VIDEO: Traffic policeman with Sh33m in account turns law enforcement into money minting business
A traffic police officer earning an average of Sh35,000 per month has managed to deposit Sh33 million in one of his bank accounts in just two years, attracting the attention of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Sunday Nation has established.
Constable Jamal Bare Mohamed, who is attached to the Thika Traffic Department, is among 34 junior traffic officers countrywide alleged to have received millions of shillings over the past two years in bribes, EACC investigations indicate.
The 33 are just a fraction of the deadly corruption network that has turned Kenyan roads into a money minting avenue worth billions of shillings, even as thousands of people continue to die from accidents each year despite regulations introduced by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
When broken down, police motorcycle rider Mohamed earned a net salary of Sh840,000 in the past two years but has Sh26 million in one of his bank accounts, which the High Court froze on Friday evening after a successful application by anti-corruption investigators.
“A preservatory order is hereby issued prohibiting the respondent, jointly and severally; their agents, servants or any other person from withdrawing, transferring, disposing of or in any other way dealing with the sum of Sh26,193,071 held in account number 1550161806043 in Equity Bank Limited, Thika Supreme Branch, in the names of Jamal Bare Mohamed,” ordered Lady Justice L.A. Achode.
In videos secretly shot on Tuesday afternoon on the Thika-Garissa road (some uploaded on the Nation Website), Mr Mohamed is seen in the company of an unidentified officer wearing a green reflector jacket stopping motorists at random, especially lorry and truck drivers, and collecting what is believed to be money.
THIKA POLICE RIDER 2
His white motorbike labelled “Thika Police Rider 2” is seen parked by the roadside between 11.30 am and 1 pm when the video was shot.
According to ongoing EACC investigations, many lorry crews have parted with bribes to pass this checkpoint. For instance, after stopping a cream Isuzu lorry ferrying stones for construction, he is seen reaching into his pocket and giving what appears to be change. The same thing happens after stopping a blue lorry.
Questions abound on why the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) failed to raise the issue of millions of shillings in the officer’s accounts during the recent vetting.
His wealth declaration form submitted to the vetting panel indicates that he earned Sh729,120 as salary and Sh219,000 as allowances for the period in question.
He said he also earned Sh4.3 million from his livestock business in Garissa and Sh120,000 from renting out a three bedroomed house.
Also unclear is whether the NPSC noticed that the same officer was operating two different accounts under a similar name at a bank, each with suspicious bulk deposits and withdrawals and why he did not withdraw his salary on a number of months.
Read more in the Sunday Nation