Investigative Report By Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.

MOTORISTS, country buses, matatu vehicles and boda boda taxis ferrying travelers across the highways and inlet rods in Nyanza Province are going through harrowing experience of shameless and open corruption being practiced by police traffic officers.

There are some many and unnecessary road check-points and road blocks meant not only to check drivers and motorists committing traffic offences such as overloading, defective vehicles, speeding and defective, but mainly for collection.

In all these numerous stops, the policemen hardly boarded vehicles to assess the number of passengers on board, but quickly moved behind the vehicles with the conductor for quick deals, and the journey goes on.

The bribe money is transferred in advance and when the vehicle pulled up at the particular check-point, it is just a matter of formality of confirmation. One could hear the conductor asking the officer if he had received any goodies, and officer answers in the affirmative.

It bring more shame to Kenya as a nation, because this particular highway is a busy transnational road, which is used by foreigners from neighboring countries like Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and even Burundi who to Kisii and Kisumu towns for the purpose of purchasing shop goods wholesale and distributor stores for sale in their countries. They go home equipped with bad information about the massive corruption on Kenya roads. The traffic policemen, even don’t care about the type of passengers on board of the vehicle while demanding for the bribe money menacingly.

The practice is even worse on small inlet roads leading to market places and trading centers like Oyugis, Rongo, Awendo. On market days, which is usually on Monday and Fridays,. Thgese are boon days for the policemen who poured themselves onto these small roads as early as 7 am for the purpose of minting money. Boda Boda motorbike parts with 500 or else their machines are grounded on flimsy reasons.

Matatu vehicles parts with 100/- or else the vehicles is seized and driven to the station, where it is even costing more for the vehicle to be released to the owners. In such a case the Matatu owner parts with 500/-.. Some of these issues are the major course of frequent strike and stoppage by Matatu owners whose carries have remained unheeded to by the people in the authorities.

The worsew hit places are roads connecting Awenbdo-Uriri,Oria and Ndhiwa via Rapogi. About three or four policemen turns up very in the morning at the junction of SONYSUGAR and Owiro Akoko Girls Secondary school at Ranjira. And their counterparts from Ndhiwa district turns up on Oria Nguku Rapedhi road. At time even crossing Kuja River into Uriri.

On this busy road close to 200 motor bike boda boda taxis are ferrying market goers on Monday and Friday, and the policemen manning various section of this road are said to be minting thousands of shillings as no vehicle is spare, even if it is an new one, the operator must part with some money before he or she is allow to operate on this road.

Policemen manning this particular road, which is traversing across the farming rich Uriri and Awendo district do subject women carrying their aware to the market to a thorough inspection. The policemen main objective is that they do target those carrying jiggery to the market. Jaggery traders parts with heavy penalty before they are allowed into Awendo Market to sale their wares.

The same practice is also being witnessed on the Awendo-Mariwa Oyani road, which links Rongo and Trans-Mara districts.On market day, a road block is permanently erected between Awendo and Mariwa and is always manned by more than three policemen.

On one occasion early this year, some smartly dressed men driving a brandy new Prado four wheel drive vehicle carjacked a motorbike rider only about 100 yards from the road block manner by three police officers. The carjackers fired in the air using what looked like an AK 47 rifle, and the policemen took to their heels and fled in full view of members of the on looking public.

The sane problem is so common on roads leading out of the busy Oyugis Markert on Tuesday and Fridays of the week. Apart from the road block which is permanently erected outside Oyugis town on the Oyugis-Kisii road.

Policemen are also found a few kilometers away on the Oyugis-Rangwe road,and on Oyugis Kendu-Bay road as well as on Oyugis Rioma road, which links Ksipul-Kabondo and Kitutu Chache districts.And while these practice of sending more policemen on the roads, crime waves wirthin Oyugis and Awendo towns have reached out of proportion. A weekly hardly passed without someone being either killed or seriously i9njnured in gangster attacks or buildings and shops broken into by unknown thugs.

In Nyakach district, cattle rustlers are known to have killed peace-loving villagers. Sondu Town has a full fledged police station, which is serving both Kericho West and Nyakach district. But the majority of the policemen working in this stations spent most of their time manning the roads outlets leading out of Sondu Market instead of checking on criminal elements who are known to harassing the citizens.

The time is ripe for the hardworking Nyanza PPO to come up with positive measures and action and rescue the suffering travelers by cutting down the number of police collection spots on the region roads.

It is indeed quite illogic and makes no sense for dozens of policemen to be posted to manner the Kisumu-Ahero road, which is only 12 miles or 20 kilometers, and there are always a road block permanently erected at Nyamasaria, Rabuor Korowe and Ahero. The return of booked traffic case are said to be minimal, so what the policemen are doing on this road. It appears as if in every small police post in Nyanza, there must be a team of traffic officers manning the nearby roads..

The situation is so pathetic and makes the place and the country look like a police state. Policemen post to work on the roads should be given firm instruction to ensure that they brought to book traffic offenders, and strictly now to allow drivers and conductors committing bookable traffic offences to go scot-free!!.

The situation is the same on the roads linking towns in Gusii region, which also falls under Nyanza Province. And worse of it all is the road between Kisii Gucha-Mugunga-Magaborabu and Nyanguso.And in Kisii-Nyamira and Kisii-Keroka roads.

The same practice us even so common on Katito, Kendu-Bay and Kendu-Bay road. The policemen in those region appeared to have nothing else to engage on except the job of manning road check point and road-blocks?.

On the main Awendo-Uriri and Ndhiwa roads, motor bike boda boda taxis are carrying two or three passengers on the small machines just to recover the money they spent on bribing the police traffic officers, thus causing fatal accidents, but with impunity.

These practices re giving the police bad image and reputation and someone must ensure the practice come to an immediate end’

Ends

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com.