Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett on Tuesday threatened to arrest a matatu operator who blatantly confessed, before the State House Accountability summit that he had been bribing police officers every morning.
Mr John Macharia, in a bid to illustrate how deep rooted corruption was in the matatu industry, stated that he had always been parting with Sh800 for every trip he makes along the Kayole-Nairobi route and in return, police assist him in committing crime.
“Traffic police do not wake up to control traffic or do what they are mandated to do. They wake up in the morning to come and collect bribes from our buses,” Macharia firmly stated.
“Some officers stop me, get into my vehicle and ask me, unataka kueka abiria wapi (where do you want to drop passengers)? Whether on the pavement, kwa stage or wherever…they assist me commit an offence”.
To the surprise of the audience who included President Uhuru Kenyatta, a seemingly angered Boinett immediately hit back stating that the driver ought to be behind bars for admitting to several crimes.
“I wish I had time to arrest this guy because he has made several confessions. He should be in a police station heading to court,” the IG expressed.
Boinett’s remarks were, however, not taken kindly by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Chairman Macharia Njeru who vowed to strongly defend the driver should the IG make good his threat.
Meanwhile, at the summit, President Kenyatta strongly defended his efforts in the fight against corruption but pointed an accusing finger at officials of the Anti-Graft body.
Kenyatta claimed that his government had done more than all previous administrations since independence in fighting graft.
The Head of State, however, set himself in the path of a storm when he remarked that he had done all within his power to stem corruption asking the audience what else they expected him to do.
His remarks were highly criticised from various quarters as they were taken to mean he was helpless in the fight against graft.
Here is the video courtesy of Citizen TV:
