A report from a task force led by retired Chief Justice David Maraga has disclosed the significant profitability of the Traffic Police Unit, indicating that bribes received from motorists are distributed among higher-ranking officials.
In the report submitted to President William Ruto in November of the previous year, Maraga informed the president that the bribes collected by lower-ranking officers were being funneled to their superiors.
“The corruption allegations against the Traffic Police Unit are deeply rooted to the extent that high-ranking officers in the unit obtain a ‘cut’ from the bribes collected,” the report states.
The Maraga report revealed that the corruption in the Traffic Department cuts across the rank and file in the unit.
From the junior police officers, who mount roadblocks on the roads, to the senior police chiefs sitting in the corner offices, they (police) all benefit from the hundreds of thousands of bribes collected by the rogue traffic cops.
The report said senior police officers sanction the collection of bribes.
As a result, the public had lost confidence in the police traffic department, hence the need for reforms.
Maraga pointed an accusing finger at top commanders in the police for failing to take action on officers who have been implicated in corruption.
Failure by police chiefs to prosecute corrupt officers has given credence to claims that some of the police bosses were involved in the corruption.
“It is also significant that despite the reported cases of corruption in this unit, not a single officer has been dismissed from the Service for engaging in bribery on the roads. This very fact points to leadership failure or possible complicity of the NPS leadership in this vice,” the report states.
Maraga advised that the Deputy Inspector General overseeing the Kenya Police should dissolve the existing traffic department and establish a new traffic unit.
“All officers under the current Traffic Police Unit, and those who have previously served under the Unit should not be redeployed to the new Traffic Control Unit or any other traffic management duties or functions,” the report recommends.
The report indicates that the recommendation seeks to introduce new personnel and restore confidence in a department that has long been viewed as the most corrupt segment of the police service.
In July 2022, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission announced the confiscation of assets valued at Ksh 27 million from a former senior traffic police officer.
The anti-corruption agency identified Ksh 8,153,959 in various bank accounts, alongside six parcels of land and four motor vehicles, which collectively amounted to Ksh 19,420,000.
It is reported that the police officer acquired these assets and cash over a three-year period from June 18, 2008, to February 11, 2011, during which time he was earning a net salary of Ksh 20,000.
The EACC took action to seize these assets following a High Court ruling on June 30, 2022, which determined that the officer had not provided a satisfactory explanation for the acquisition of the properties.
Additionally, Mulei was ordered to pay Ksh 10 million to the government as part of the unexplained wealth he had amassed.
“EACC is proceeding to execute this judgement. In addition, the defendant is to pay the sum of Sh10,536,199 to the Government of Kenya, the cumulative bank deposits made by him between June 18, 2008 and February 18, 2011,” the commission said at the time.
Court records revealed that the only assets declared by Mulei during the relevant period totaled Ksh 2,382,240.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) stated that Chief Inspector Gabriel Mulei, who held positions in various traffic offices, including those in Kiambu and Malindi, was suspected of having illicitly amassed cash and property.
The court ordered that all of this unaccounted wealth be surrendered to the government.
