Occupational stress has been identified as the major cause of police deaths. Financial difficulties, isolation from family for long spells, long working hours, job conflicts, relationship losses, poor coping skills and exposure to work related trauma have been identified as some of stress and depression causing factors.
Of all members of Kenya Police, the traffic cop is the least likely to shoot the boss or fellow colleagues. They also rarely commit suicide or kill spouses according to a medic dealing with mental cases in Kenya.
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The same is not the case with regular police and the baddest of them all, the Administration Police, who are the most likely to shoot their superiors before turning guns on themselves.
According to the occupational therapist at the Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital – and whose identity we shall not disclose since he is not authorised to share information with the media – officers manning traffic rarely commit suicide for one reason: their jobs (and accompanying bribes) provide them with high motivation to live!
The traffic cops too are unlikely to turn the gun against their colleagues whenever disputes arise, they tend to solve their differences amicably according to the specialist who has worked at the facility for the last 10 years.
Traffic officers hardly resort to killing out of frustrations because they can fund comfortable lifestyles with the extra money they collect from roads, argues the therapist, adding that messing with a superior means being transferred from a lucrative route and most rarely upset the apple-cart.
“In the traffic department, the motive to work is the illegal money they collect. Traffic officers rarely commit suicide, they seem to be comfortable, not disturbed by financial constraints that contribute to stress,” observes the medic.
Matatu Owners Association (MOA) chairman, Simon Kimutai, agrees that chances of general duty officers committing murder are higher than those serving in traffic.
“I feel general duty officers are more vulnerable. Something has to be done to ensure a fair and balanced environment,” says Kimutai.
The official insists traffic cops are loaded with lots of money. In Nairobi, he claims, they collect around Sh10 million in a day with a single officer pocketing between Sh20,000 and Sh30,000.
Nicholas Mbugua, general secretary Kenya Long Distance Truck Drivers Union (KLDTDU), claims each road block is a toll station for collecting money.
“A truck driver from Mombasa all the way to Malaba border has to set aside Sh3,800 to appease officer in all the 38 road blocks. Sh100 note is dropped at each road block, so you can imagine how much they make in a day from a fleet of more than 100,000 trucks,” states Mbugua.