Traffic Police officers have been banned from carrying guns while on traffic duty.
In a notice to all traffic commandants, Principal Deputy to the Deputy Inspector General of Police Mirriam Muli announced the decision citing cases where the officers were found misusing firearms.
According to her, the National Police Service had learnt about the continued misuse of firearms by officers involved in traffic duties.
As such, she directed all the commanders to promptly effect the directive.
“No officer actively on traffic duty will carry a firearm,” the notice read in part.
“Commanders ensure that this directive is complied with promptly.”
EACC arrests traffic police in dramatic incident
The notice came a day after an incident where a traffic cop tried to shoot at officers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Thursday, November 30.
According to EACC CEO Twalib Mbarak, the officer was one of three police officers caught red handed while collecting bribes from motorists along the Naivasha-Mai Mahiu Road.
In the dramatic incident, EACC detectives moved to arrest the three officers after getting wind of their alleged demand for a Ksh15,000 bribe.
A tense moment ensued at the scene as the police officers took to their heels as soon as noticing the presence of detectives.
Amid the tussle and the running battle, one of the officers reportedly fired a bullet in the air in a move believed to be aimed at intimidating the detectives.
Also Read: Maraga Taskforce Seeks to End IPOA, NPS Rivalry
However, the three were eventually arrested and taken to the EACC headquarters in Nairobi for grilling. Later in the day, EAC CEO Twalib Mbarak recommended that traffic police be stripped of their guns while on Kenyan roads.
Mbarak recommends ban
According to the CEO, carrying guns on the road was a way of intimidating operations by the EACC in its fight against bribery on Kenyans roads.
“Our position as the EACC is that traffic policemen and policewomen should never be armed and this is extremely necessary for their own safety,” he stated.
“So, all this issue of major highways having officers who are armed is meant to scare EACC officers in their operations.”
Also Read: CS Kindiki: Traffic Cameras to Replace Police Roadblocks
Further in his statement, Mbarak assured that the anti-graft commission would step up crackdowns against rogue officers colluding with non-compliant motorists on the roads ahead of the festive season.
The Commission has in the past impounded dozens of traffic police officers caught in the act on various roads.
Notably, a report by the Presidential Taskforce on Police Reforms in November raised an alarm of the high level of corruption in the police service, with the taskforce describing as “institutionalized”.
