Policeman enters motorist’s car through co-driver window in Nairobi CBD

Sequence shots of policeman entering motorist’s car on Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi on March 30, 2022. [Screengrab]

A one-minute high drama in the Nairobi central business district ended in a motorist fleeing on foot and a police officer taking the wheel of the abandoned Honda Fit.

The action was caught on tape, and aired on Citizen Television on Wednesday, March 30.

The drama began when the police officer, who was manning the GPO Roundabout on Kenyatta Avenue, picked an altercation with the motorist.

It is unclear what caused the tiff, but from the animated exchanges between the motorist and the cop, defied orders might have been at the centre of the dispute.

The police officer, who was speaking to the motorist through the co-driver’s window, thereafter forcibly entered the car by raising his left foot and thrusting himself in through the same window.

The dispute continued in the car. A few seconds later, the motorist flung his door open and fled on foot, leaving his car behind.

The traffic officer, thereafter, ignited the engine, and drove the vehicle away. It is reported the cop took the vehicle to Central Police Station.

All this while, there was a person on the co-driver’s seat. It’s unclear whether the passenger had hailed taxi services, or was a friend of the driver who fled.

The resultant melee caused a temporary traffic snarl-up on the Kenyatta Avenue.

The Standard reached Nairobi Traffic Police Commander Joshua Omukata for comment.

He said: “That one (police officer caught on video) is not under my jurisdiction. His boss is the Central Sub-County Police Commander. Kindly speak with him.”

The Standard has reached David Baariu, the officer in charge of Central police post, for comment.

The Kenyan law allows police officers, who are exercising their duties, to enter a motorist’s car – though not violently.

Section 12 of the Traffic Act, 2015 says: “It shall be lawful for any police officer in uniform to stop any vehicle, and for any police officer, licensing officer or inspector to enter any vehicle; to drive any vehicle or cause any vehicle to be driven upon reasonable suspicion of any offence under this Act.”

Motorists who defy the orders “shall be guilty of an offence, and could be subjected to a fine not exceeding Sh30,000.”

Some of the offences a police officer could spot include expired vehicle insurance cover, expired driver’s license, driving an unroadworthy vehicle, carrying unauthorised passengers, trafficking illegal substances, among others.