The National Police Service (NPS) has taken action against a senior police officer who was accused of receiving a monthly Ksh5,000 bribe from musician cum businesswoman Mercy Atieno alias Atis.
In a radio interview on Tuesday, March 15, NPS spokesperson Bruno Shioso revealed that they were investigating the matter and that they had transferred the affected officer as they continue with their probe.
Shioso added that he had tried to reach out to Atis after her story went viral on social media, to get her side of the story. At the same time, the police spokesperson added that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) was also looking into the matter separately.
"I took interest in that information and made a few calls as standard procedure. I talked to the OCS and she gave me her version of the story there were differences between the allegations by Atis and what she told me.
The incident is something that we are aware of and we are working on it as police and IPOA is also on the matter. For us we did an administrative arrangement where we had to remove the officer from that place to another as we wait for the outcome of the investigations," he divulged.
The police spokesperson further urged Kenyans to report cases where officers are engaged in acts of extortion. He acknowledged that there were rogue officers who walk around business enterprises demanding money.
He explained that the NPS can only take action against such officers if Kenyans report rogue officers.
"I want to call out more people like Mercy. Anytime you have a problem with officers, the first thing you do is to go to the OCS if he or she is not part of the problem.
You can always come to the headquarters, or go outside the police force through IPOA. The issue is scream and let your scream be heard," he stated.
Appearing on the same radio show earlier, Atis, who gained public prominence with her hit song, I don't wanna know, narrated how she was forced to close her business after run-ins with the police.
She alleged that she would often part with Ksh250 to Ksh300 per day to pay junior officers who visited her store and Ksh5,000 monthly to the OCS. According to the businesswoman, the money was to serve as 'protection fees.'
"The police started coming for Ksh200 with the patrol car. If I failed they would threaten that they would arrest me. The next day officers on foot usually came for Ksh50 each and the patrol car Ksh200 daily," she stated.
