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A proposed bill, the Bribery (Amendment) Bill, 2023, could see the removal of traffic police officers from Kenya’s roads if approved by Parliament.
Sponsored by Bomachoge Borabu MP Barango Obadiah, the bill aims to introduce anti-bribery measures for the National Police Service, including the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in areas currently manned by traffic police.
Under the bill, eight multi-agency command centers will be established to monitor CCTV footage from designated areas. These centers will be staffed by officers nominated by the National Police Service and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority.
Mr. Barango explained to the Budget and Appropriations Committee that the objective is to amend the Bribery Act, 2016, by inserting a new section focusing on anti-bribery measures for the National Police Service. These measures include coordinating CCTV cameras in traffic police areas, taking action against officers involved in bribery, commissioning police uniforms without pockets, and ensuring the maintenance of CCTV cameras in traffic areas.
The Bribery Act mandates both public and private entities to implement measures for preventing corruption. Mr. Barango emphasized the need to reduce human interaction with motorists on roads, which often leads to open bribery. According to the proposed bill, the CCTVs will replace police officers in designated traffic areas, and officers stationed in the CCTV command centers will not be permitted to leave their designated areas.
Previously, in 2014, the government established a command center in Nairobi to coordinate traffic operations and crime management using CCTV cameras. The project, which cost over Sh20 billion, involved installing 1,800 cameras in Nairobi, Mombasa, and their surroundings. The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that it will cost approximately Sh8 billion to install CCTV cameras in all designated traffic management areas across the country.
