It now looks like traffic police are under attack from civilians who are tired of being arrested for offences they have committed on the road. It was a shocking yet funny moment in Embu County when a matatu driver allegedly sped off with two traffic officers who had arrested him for flouting rules.
According to the acting head enforcement officer in the County Joseph Ndwiga, his officers were manning the road in Runyenjes when a matatu driver was spotted picking passengers from an undesignated area.
The two officers got to the suspect and asked him to drive to Runyenjes police station where he was set to be booked for the offence. It was then that the suspect sped off with the two towards a forest in Kirinyaga County.
Ndwiga added that it was after the driver realised that he was been trailed by other police officers that he abandoned the matatu and took off leaving behind his conductor and the two officers.
The matatu was impounded and the driver is still at large.
Just last month, a video that went viral on social media showed two traffic police officers locked in a violent struggle with a tuk tuk operator as they tried to make an arrest. The two male police officers were filmed as they engaged in a stone throwing drama with the operator during what appears to have been a routine traffic stop.
In the video clip, taken by a curious motorist, the tuk tuk operator is seen hurling stones at the unarmed traffic police officers who were forced to scamper for safety.
Police are meant to protect the citizens and enforce law and order however it seems as though they have become the target for most motorists. Where does one get the courage to fight police officers?