How drivers buy impunity from 'rogue' officers

A traffic police officer inspecting vehicles along the Southern Bypass, Nairobi on January 2, 2026. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

Armed with crumpled notes, drivers of public transport vehicles (PSVs) and long-distance vehicles buy impunity on roads, endangering the lives of innocent roads users.

Notes in denominations of Sh50, Sh100 or Sh200 are squeezed into the palms or pockets of traffic police officers. Sometimes they are tucked into driving licences or dropped on the ground for officers to pick up as the drivers zoom off.

The vice, which has spread countrywide, sees the law enforcers “license” drivers to speed beyond required limits, overlap, use wrong lanes, overload, and operate faulty vehicles, among a wide range of misconducts attributed to unnecessary loss of lives.

One driver in Nairobi admits that corruption was the source of most ills happening on roads.

“Accidents will not reduce so long as police continue to collect bribes. The money we give is a ticket for us to circumvent the law to meet targets and recoup what the police collect from us by carrying excess. We have institutionalised corruption such that it is almost normal to bribe, and the rot starts right at the heart of government,” says the driver.

In justifying the bribes, the 44-year-old claims it was the only way they would withstand competition and make money in the chaotic sub-sector.

He identifies the late Transport Minister John Michuki as the only person who temporarily managed to bring sanity.

“The rule of thumb here is that if you can’t beat them, join them. There is nothing we can do to stop corruption; it’s happening openly yet the EACC (Ethics Anti-Corruption Commission) is doing nothing."

Despite efforts by EACC to rein in rogue officers, the vice remains rampant. According to the agency, traffic police officers collect Sh3 billion in bribes each month.

Chief Executive Officer Abdi Mohamud noted that the practice, normally referred to as petty corruption, has a major threat to the country’s well-being, expressing disappointment at how it had been normalised in society and government institutions.

“Looking at the amount of money we recover from arrested traffic police officers after just two hours of surveillance, we estimate that in a 10-hour shift, an officer can collect as much as Sh100,000 from motorists. That translates to about Sh3 million per traffic police officer if deployed daily. If we assume there are 1,000 traffic police officers on duty nationwide, that is an enormous sum collected through so-called small bribes from Kenyans, but with a huge impact,” said the EACC boss last year.

A police officer collects bribe along Nakuru-Eldoret highway at Salgaa shoping centre on 18th July,2014. [FILE]

David Kiarie, chairman of the Road Safety Association of Kenya, refuses to entirely blame the police, insisting the buck stops with the Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir for failing to ensure the famous Michuki rules are enforced.

“Corruption is an entrenched societal problem, not only involving the police. There is no commitment from the government to stop road carnage; the President hardly addresses this issue, while his Transport CS never steps out of his office to visit an accident scene. The tired phrase that the accidents are due to human error is just an excuse to escape blame,” notes Kiarie.

He also blames the failure to inspect driving schools, poor driver training, backdoor issuance of licences, lenient punishment of offenders, and poorly designed roads for frequent accidents.

“So many drivers on the roads are unqualified, having bought licences from driving schools that have compromised officials from NTSA (National Transport and Safety Authority). Our roads remain unsafe because some rogue engineers, greedy for money, ignore the safety component, while our courts contribute to the problem by being lenient on offenders. All this is because corruption has permeated all spheres of our lives,” says Kiarie.

His remarks are echoed by Peter Murima, chairperson, Motorists Association of Kenya, who accuses Chirchir of being aloof.

“An institution is good as its leader. Within a short span, Michuki single-handedly brought order to our roads. Why have his successors failed to achieve the same success? Does it mean they are not suitable for the job, or they are simply being held captive by corruption cartels?” says Murima.

At the height of chaos in the public transport sub-sector, Michuki in 2004 introduced stringent regulations that brought order on the roads, albeit after resistance by PSV owners and operators.

Under the rules, PSVs' carrying capacity was reduced, and all vehicles were directed to have safety belts and speed governors. The vehicles were designated for specific routes. Drivers and conductors were required to wear uniforms and display badges.

The government also strictly enforced other rules, including a crackdown on unroadworthy vehicles, drink driving and recklessness.

Two decades down the line, Michuki’s predecessors have neither struggled to sustain these rules nor come up with better measures.

Since assuming the docket in August 2024, after a Cabinet was reshuffled, Chirchir has not been assertive, while NTSA has adopted a reactionary approach.

“There his no committed effort ensuring we have only qualified drivers, and the driving schools meet the set standards,” says Murima, who, like Kiarie, is not convinced that human error is solely to blame.

He is of the view that roadblocks are unnecessary. “These roadblocks serve no purpose other than being extortion tolls. We need mobile patrols to monitor speeding, overlapping, reckless driving and general impunity, and this can’t be achieved by merely having barriers."

A traffic police officer inspecting vehicles along the Southern Bypass, Nairobi on January 2, 2026. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

Since the year began, the country has already lost 287 lives as of January 20, compared to 276 fatalities recorded last year during the same period.

Out of the deaths recorded by police, 99 were pedestrians, 30 drivers, 61 passengers, 24 pillion passengers, 67 motorcyclists, and six pedal cyclists who perished in 587 accidents.

Among these victims are three siblings who were based in the US, who lost their lives on the night of January 4 in Gilgil along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

Njeri DeLeon, 16, Emmanuel DeLeon (13) and six-year-old Kairo Winkelpeck were in the company of their parents, Christopher Winkelpeck and Wangu Ndirangu for a charity mission when their hired van was hit on the side by a trailer.

Emmanuel died on the spot, while Kairo succumbed to injuries on the way to the hospital in Nakuru. Njeri died later at a Nairobi hospital where she had been admitted for more than a week.

The alarming rate of road accidents is not only shattering families and communities but also poses a significant economic burden on the nation. The NTSA estimates that road carnage costs the country Sh450 billion annually.

“The brunt of this burden falls disproportionately on trauma victims and their families, while hospitals and emergency services also bear the strain,” said the authority in November 2024 during the launch of the National Road Safety Action Plan 2024-2028.

The plan encompasses a set of strategies aimed at enhancing safety for all road users, with key initiatives being improvements to road infrastructure, ensuring vehicle safety standards, and stricter enforcement measures. Other activities include heightened public awareness campaigns, provision of post-crash care services, and promotion of safe driving practices.

While NTSA has sometimes leveraged technology by deploying speed cameras, this approach requires huge amounts of money to implement and sustain compared to the Michuki rules.

“Instead of having to wait for budgetary allocation to implement some of the projects like installing cameras from Nairobi to Mombasa, a venture that will cost a fortune, why can’t we just enforce the simple Michuki rules to save people from avoidable deaths?” notes Kiarie.

Chirchir’s ministry is mandated to develop and review transport policies and legislation as well as oversee enforcement.

Efforts to get comments from the Transport CS were futile but one of his aides promised that the minister would respond "at the most appropriate time".

“The CS is engaged elsewhere and might not be available for a response now. But what you’re focusing on is just a single facet within an architecture involving so many aspects. But I can assure you that a lot is happening at the moment,” said the aide.

NTSA, apart from implementing policies related to road transport and safety, conducts motor vehicle inspections and certification, registers and licenses vehicles, regulates PSVs, develops and implements road safety strategies, collects and analyses road safety data, besides advising government on national road transport and safety matters.

On January 19, the authority suspended six operators for non-compliance with various provisions.

The affected operators were Guardian Coach, Nanyuki Express Cab Services, Monna Comfort Sacco, Greenline, Naekana Route 134 Sacco and Uwezo Coast Shuttle.

Guardian Coach licence was revoked following a January 6 accident in Kimende along the Nairobi-Naivasha highway. The company was given 21 days to comply. Nanyuki Express Cab was given similar days to comply after one of its vehicles was involved in a fatal road accident on January 4 at Karai along the Nairobi-Naivasha highway.

Monna was penalised over a tragic accident at Muhonje along the Eldoret-Webuye road on December 23. Naekena Route 134 Sacco had its licence suspended following an accident on January 2 at Konza area along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.

The authority withdrew the license of Green Company after one of its fleets collided head‑on with a 14‑seater matatu on January 4 at the Karai area, leaving nine people, including two minors, dead.

Uwezo was punished over a fatal accident on January 6 at the Tunnel area on the Muhoroni-Londiani Road. The bus collided with a trailer, killing six people and injuring dozens more.