This archive report was first published on 10 July 2020.
On June 3, 2020, a police officer took details of a vehicle at a roadblock in Machakos County, as part of efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
However, the roadblock was just one of many that had been set up by rogue police officers who had turned them into a 'cash cow', according to Deputy Inspector General of Police Edward Mbugua.
In a letter to police chiefs, Mbugua stated that police officers were not supposed to mount roadblocks, citing a corruption nexus involving senior and junior officers.
He also warned that action would be taken against senior officers who attached their juniors to the Traffic Department without his authority.
Under the new traffic guidelines, police officers are required to patrol highways as they enforce traffic regulations.
According to Mbugua, a number of police officers had been extorting motorists, with the corrupt practice being most prevalent along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway, Nairobi-Nakuru Highway, and in Kisumu.
He blamed senior police commanders for sending their juniors to roadblocks to 'collect bribes', despite an order by Inspector General Hillary Mutyambai that traffic roadblocks had been abolished.
As part of efforts to tame corruption, Mutyambai had announced new traffic operation regulations in September 2020, which saw traffic officers placed under the command of police station commanders.
