Police officer seeks forgiveness from vetting team after pleading to corrupt dealings

A senior traffic police officer confessed his "corruption sins" and asked for forgiveness from a Police vetting panel, chaired by National Police Service Commission boss Johnstone Kavuludi in Mombasa.

Sergeant Leonard Iloke Masika pleaded guilty to giving false information before the vetting board when asked to give account of M-Pesa transactions between him and the former coast traffic boss Mr Lawrence Martin Kariuki.

“I am a sinner, forgive me as your son, I will never repeat. I will be honest and do my work diligently. I have three children who depend on me,” he told the panel on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Kavuludi told the officer to go back and work diligently, but be prepared to face the panel when called upon.

“The fact that you have been vetted does not mean you cannot be called back when need arises,” he said.

The officer told the vetting board that he was a victim of circumstances as he received instructions from his former boss.

“When the lorries belonging to Hakika Transporters, and other vehicles were impounded for breaking traffic rules, Mr Kariuki used to call, asking me to help them, I would then send him the money via M-Pesa and keep Sh1000,” sergeant Masika said.

M-PESA TRANSACTIONS

His M-Pesa transactions statement showed that the officer sent more than Sh32,000 consistently to Mr Kariuki.

He could not explain to the board what the money was meant for and why he was sending it particularly to Mr Kariuki.

The former Coast traffic police boss was among seven senior officers that the National Police Service Commission had sacked after finding them unsuitable to serve in the service.

During the vetting, the panel discovered transfer of money between junior traffic officers and their senior counterparts.

A nervous Sergeant Masika said, often, the transporters would come to the office and hand over the cash to him to take to his former boss.

The officer was so shaken when he appeared before the panel, that he was unable to take notes as the panellists read the section of the Police Act outlining the punishment upon conviction, when an officer is found to have given false information or accepted bribe.

OFFICER NERVOUS

“I am nervous and I cannot hold a pen,” he said, adding that it was routine for the transporters to visit their office and hand in cash whenever their vehicles were detained for traffic offences.

Mr Masika could also not adequately answer on the source of Sh1.6 million he had sent his wife via M-Pesa.

According to the M-Pesa statement, the money was sent in terms of Sh200,000.

The officer however, told the seven-bench panel that he had borrowed the Sh1.6 million from a bank and sent it to his wife’s M-Pesa account.

He also could not explain why and where he got Sh103,000 which he sent to Corporal Charles Ogolla.
“I cannot remember sending such amount of money to anyone or what the money was meant for,” he said.

PROJECTS

He denied knowing Corporal Ogolla and told the vetting board that he does not recall his M-Pesa statement having the name.

The officer who owns about 20 acres of land in his Busia County home, told the panellists that he has been solely depending on his salary to finance his projects.

The vetting board also dealt with other cases of unexplained M-Pesa transactions between the officers within the traffic department and other businessmen.

Assistant Deputy Inspector-General of police Peter Pamba was among the panellists vetting the traffic officers at the Kenya School of Government in Mombasa County.