Junior officers implicate seniors in 'stima' bribe scandal

EMBU COUNTY: Junior police officers deployed to man the Embu road block have complained of pressure from their seniors.

The officers who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity said their seniors demand bribes from them, and they are therefore forced to solicit the same from motorists.

They claimed that all senior officers from the region are involved in the scam.

The disillusioned officers alleged that the seniors were demanding a daily remittance of Sh5,000 each, which has in turn caused them to harass the public as they try to raise the money.

The officers also alleged that the number of police officers on patrol during the day has been increased from 12 to 15 with the same demand that they remit whatever they collect to the accused seniors.

Also affected are boda boda operators who claim that a senior traffic cop who reported to the station recently has increased their weekly remittance from Sh50 to Sh100, taxis from Sh100 to Sh200 and matatus from Sh200 to Sh300.

"You can imagine the money they are able to raise from over 400 boda boda riders operating in Embu town alone," claimed one of the operators.

Only last week, the operators had complained of police harassment and planned to stage a demonstration.

"This collection is nicknamed "stima" and if you refuse to remit, you are said to be disconnected meaning you will either be arrested and charged with fabricated traffic offenses or your driving licence confiscated," claimed a victim of the scandal.

Bar owners have not been spared in the alleged senior officer's cartel, with many of them complaining of police harassment of their clients even before official closing time.

POLICE REFORMS

A prominent bar operator claimed that sometimes the officers arrive at the bar in private vehicles and demand up to Sh2,000 from clients who sometimes end up being locked up if they fail to raise the bribes.

Contacted over the damaging claims, County Police Commandant Willis Okello condemned the act and promised to institute an immediate and thorough investigation.

"It is very shameful for senior officers to be implicated in such a scandal of such magnitude especially in this era of police reforms," Mr Okello said.

He said he would carry out his own investigation to establish the truth of the matter with a view to taking stern action if the seniors are truly found to be involved in the demand for bribes.

WATER THEFT

Meanwhile, a miraa farmer was yesterday sentenced to four months in prison or a Sh10,000 fine by a Runyenjes court after he pleaded guilty to obstructing and diverting stream water to his farm for irrigation.

Patrick Mukundi admitted to charges of diverting the flow of Kaungu stream in Gikuuri village to a pond, from where he pumped water to miraa farms.

The court heard that in the course of blocking the stream water, Mr Mukundi exposed over 500 students of Nthagaiya Secondary School to a water shortage.

Mukundi together with three other farmers were arrested by Water Resource Management Authority officials after the school went without water for several days due to the diversion.

The officials also confiscated water pumps and pipes during the night operation. Mukundi admitted that they usually carried out the exercise at night since they do not have a permit to divert the water.