Reports have emerged detailing mistakes that blew the cover of a traffic police officer who agreed to forfeit Ksh26 million he acquired through bribes.
The officer was accused of demanding daily bribes from drivers, putting him on a conflicting path with other law enforcement agencies.
As time went by, the drivers plying the busy Thika - Garissa highway expressed anger over what they termed as rising harassment and extortion from the cop. The motorists filed complaints with EACC and the officer was placed under the agency's watchlist.
During investigations, the EACC detectives discovered that the police officer banked Ksh2 million every week. The money would be deposited on Mondays into his account either in cash or from his mobile money account.
Upon being deposited to the bank account, the money would then be distributed to his three accounts. The cover-up worked for 6 years until word reached the EACC that the police officer had become a nuisance to public service vehicle operators plying the route.
The high number of complaints led to EACC pouncing on the errant officer and scrutinizing his accounts which were found to have Ksh26 million.
All eyes are now on his employer, the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) for not reporting irregular funds that were found in his accounts during the 2015 vetting process.
Reports also indicated that the NPSC neglected to find out whether the officer had a separate bank account under a similar name that transacted millions weekly.
His wealth declaration form submitted to the vetting panel showed he earned Ksh729,120 as salary and Ksh219,000 in allowances for two years. The cop also reported that he earned Ksh4.3 million from his livestock business in Garissa and Ksh120,000 from renting his house.
Curiously, the officer had not touched his salary three times by the time of his vetting in 2015. In 2014, he did not use his salary for months, and upon investigations, detectives discovered that one of his accounts showed that he deposited more than Ksh10 million.
After being found guilty, the traffic police officer negotiated with the EACC and agreed to surrender Ksh26 million out of Ksh47 million pursued by the agency.
The officer defended himself stating that some of the wealth was acquired through livestock trade and inheritance from his father, further stating that he was the sole custodian of his late father's wealth, acting as a trustee on behalf of his family.
