The Kenyan police force always makes it among the most corrupt institutions in the country.
Part of the reason this is always so is because of the traffic police department whose dealings with motorists has become quite an acceptable feature. Money changes hands daily and on every road in Kenya. This has led to quite a number of police officer acquiring lavish lifestyles and riches within a short period of time something their salaries does not allow.
One officer in Mombasa who has served in the force for only 9 years is a perfect example. The Officer who is the Bamburi Traffic Base commander is said to be worth 50 million but even he cannot explain how he achieved that in a short time. Chief Inspector Abubakar Bakari was being grilled by the National Police Service Commission in a vetting process.
He was grilled about the huge amounts of Mpesa transactions he had done sending money to his bosses as well as receiving them and sending to other individuals. Trying to explain it, he said it was tenders and farming business contacts. However, things got even trickier when he could not name members of a ‘chama’ he said he was the collector.
He could also not explain bank transactions involving huge sums of cash and his explanation that juniors sending money to him were doing on the behalf of their bosses did not convince the judges.
