Corrupt Traffic Policewoman Complains: "It Was A Bad Week, I Only Made Kshs 36,000"

Verified information reaching this blogger indicates that there is a certain traffic policewoman based at the coastal town of Mombasa who raked in what she termed as "only 36,000" during a recent week of soliciting bribes from Matatus.

A good week usually yields between Kshs 45,000 and 50,000.

The traffic policewoman who is well known to matatu drivers in Mombasa arrived at the Coastal town a couple of months ago, a very "thin" woman but is today fairly bulky such that drivers usually spot her from quite a distance.

The lady has an account at Barclays Bank Digo road branch where she banks her ill-gotten gains and frequents a restaurant just around the corner, as you head towards Mwembe Tayari from the bank, where she usually orders chicken for breakfast.

I will not reveal her name or rank because I do not want to be like the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission which focuses on the small fish while letting the big fish go.

Last month, a traffic policeman was shown on television swallowing a Kshs 50 note in bribe money after being confronted by anti corruption police along Kajiado road. The same KACC that has failed to bring to justice a single cabinet minister over the Anglo Leasing scum even after plenty of evidence has been availed.

What happens is that the traffic policemen just get more cautious but do not stop taking bribes from motorists who are more than willing to part with a few hundred shillings to avoid being booked for offences that attract hefty fines in thousands of shillings.

In Machakos, the corruption story left me thinking very hard and sympathizing with straight cops, or rather cops who were not exposed to such lucrative money-minting opportunities. The situation was in the police lines where a CID officer was forced to move out of the area because in his neighbors home, who happens to be a junior traffic policeman, chicken and meat was the order of the day while in his home it was the infamous Sukuma Wiki Kale greens most of the time which caused his kids to envy and even hate their well fed neighbors. The most disturbing fact was that the CID officer was more senior in rank compared to the traffic cop.

Among most traffic 'bases' in the country, the rates for corruption are almost similar with Nissan Matatus parting with Sh 50 while buses have to give Sh 100. Those ferrying contraband like charcoal and other smuggled goods can cough up to Sh 5,000 or more depending on the value of the goods.

It is as a result of this graft, that in recent times unknown gunmen have killed some traffic policemen and bosses in mysterious circumstances. A case in point is a senior traffic boss in Thika who was assassinated two years ago in front of his family as he stopped on the roadside to buy fruits. He had about Shs 15,000 in the pocket that the gunmen did not bother to steal hence depicting an execution.

Another traffic policeman was shot dead in Mombasa early this year after leaving a bar in the wee hours of the night. It was yet another execution as he was not robbed.

In many cases, these executions could be over a deal gone bad with unscrupulous transporters or the estranged husband of the woman he was having an affair with, the truth will probably never be known.

Because they always having cash in the pocket, traffic policemen are notorious for extra marital affairs especially with married women, which has resulted in many of them contracting AIDS due to the promiscuous behavior they adopt in spending their easily acquired cash.

Besides ruining the economy, corruption also has a toll on those practicing it, especially the receiver of the money who is literally consumed by the cash through philandering and other anti social activities that could easily lead to their destruction and even death.

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