The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has commanded a police officer who declined to collect Ksh.1.7 million bribe offer from three suspects at the Mombasa Port.
In a statement on Tuesday, November 7, EACC applauded the unnamed police officer who stood her ground despite such an attempt.
“The Commission applauds the Police Officer who declined the bribe offer and instead reported the matter to EACC.
This is what is expected of all public officials when they face such ethical dilemmas,” said EACC.
Further, the Commission said the three individuals were arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation at the Port of Mombasa.
“Following investigations into a complaint received from a Police Officer in Mombasa, EACC has today arrested three members of the public namely Philip Muigai Nduati, Boniface Aggrey Ouma and Isaac Wanaloba Kenyari who attempted to bribe a Police Officer to influence investigations that she was carrying out relating to fraudulent deals at the Mombasa port.
The Police Officer declined the Ksh. 1.7 million offer and reported the matter to EACC,” read the statement in parts.
Additionally, EACC said the three suspects were processed at EACC Mombasa Offices and booked at Mombasa Central Police Station where they spent the night pending arraignment on Wednesday, November 8.
Besides, they will be charged before the Anti-Corruption Court on Wednesday, November 8 at 9:00am.
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Bribe Ranked Top
According to the National Ethics and Corruption Survey 2021, bribes were the most common form of corruption and unethical conduct among public officers with 50.3%.
Overall, 20.9 percent of the respondents who sought government services were asked to pay a bribe.
Delay in service provision prompted 44.5 percent of the respondents to pay bribes to hasten up a service while 41.4 percent paid because it was the only way they could access a service.
Additionally, the national average bribe increased considerably from Ksh. 3,833.14 in 2018 to stand at Ksh.5,889.89 in 2021.
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The average number of times a bribe was demanded per person increased to 1.67 times from 1.33 times in the 2018 Survey with a minimum of once and a maximum of 10 times.
Also, the average number of times a bribe was paid per person increased to 1.48 times from 1.24 times with a minimum of 1 and maximum of 9 times.
However, bribe payments declined to 16.5 percent for those who were asked to pay in order to receive a government service compared to 73.1 percent in 2018.