EACC Facilitates Integrity Session for Traffic Police

EACC on Thursday facilitated an integrity capacity-building session for 1,300 senior police officers undertaking a traffic management course at the National Police College in Kiganjo.

The officers were drawn from various stations across the country.

This is one of the initiatives under implementation in the quest for anti-corruption reforms and culture change in managing traffic on Kenyan roads.

The Commission, represented by Deputy Director of Ethics Compliance Mr Patrick Owiny, urged the police officers not to see EACC as an enemy but a close ally committed to assisting them in overcoming the challenge of corruption that has bedeviled Kenya’s Traffic Department and severely damaged its reputation both nationally and internationally.

EACC noted that bribery on the roads has since changed into outright extortion of money from motorists. It is not only hurting the victims but is also ruining Kenya’s image globally.

In the Kiganjo training, the Commission revealed to the officers that it is solely due to the graft culture of the Traffic Police Department that in all National Surveys on Corruption undertaken over the years, the National Police Service has consistently been ranked as the most corrupt Government Department.

In the last five years, the Commission has received and processed 4,041 reports relating to the National Police Service (NPS). Of these, 2,481 are on bribery and 90% involve traffic police officers.

EACC trained the officers on ethical leadership, anti-corruption legal frameworks, police integrity standards, overcoming ethical dilemmas in police work, corruption reporting and other reform issues.