Busia deputy OCS has been arrested by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives for allegedly soliciting KSh 50,000 bribe amid crackdown on corrupt state officials. The senior officer based at Busia Police Station was caught demanding for bribe from a suspect who had been brought to the station over a matter pertaining to a vehicle that was being held by the police.
Reports released on Thursday, February 7, indicated the accused officer whose name was not disclosed had already pocketed KSh 50,000 bribe from the suspect, identified as Almasi Baraka, in exchange for release of the suspect’s vehicle which had contradicting number plate.
“It is alleged he (the deputy OCS) demanded and received KSh 50,000 in order to release a motor vehicle whose registration number had been booked pending verification to confirm its authenticity,” read the police report.
The authorities noted the vehicle, registration number UAQ 670K, was not only being held for authenticity of its registration, but also for carrying a machine that makes fake currencies.
The EACC detectives drawn from Kisumu and Bungoma counties accused the senior officer of violating Section 38(a) of the Bribery Act, 2016. TUKO.co.ke understands the officer was moved to the EACC’s offices in Bungoma Ethics for further interrogation. The arrest comes barely a week after the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) accused police officers operating along the Kenya-Somalia border of receiving kickbacks from al-Shabaab and letting the militants into the country, a move the KDF said was compromising security.
According to a complain filed by the KDF on Friday, February 1, the border police were engaging in illegal businesses with terrorists. The KDF officers further claimed police officers were also receiving bribes to release confiscated goods belonging to al-Shabaab suspects. The police department is believed to be among the most corrupt in government.