A traffic marshal in Nairobi sparked a public outcry on December 31, 2015, after handcuffing a driver who had allegedly committed a traffic offense on Kimathi Street.
According to eyewitnesses, the marshal had forced her way into the driver's car in an attempt to charge him for the offense. However, when the driver stopped the car at Moi Avenue and refused to budge, the marshal handcuffed him.
The incident drew a large crowd, with onlookers demanding that the driver be either freed or charged with the traffic offense. Some members of the crowd questioned the marshal's actions, asking why the driver was being handcuffed and what the marshal was doing in his car in the first place.
Four police officers who were patrolling the area intervened in the incident, which occurred at around 10:30 am outside The Bazaar. After a heated exchange, one of the officers coaxed the driver to move from the back seat of his car and removed the handcuffs.
The driver denied being arrested for stealing, stating,
This is my car.
The police officers then got into the driver's car and drove towards the nearby Central Police station. Meanwhile, a member of the crowd had written the words f police on the back of the car.
