Spotlight on police over M-Pesa deals

Some of the senior officers who were vetted and cleared may not be off the hook yet after the ongoing scrutiny of junior traffic police linked them to some shady transactions.

The process, according to the National Police Service Commission, has led to the unearthing of new information about the officers - which was not within the knowledge of the panel during the vetting.

A number of officers, especially from the traffic department, have exposed a well-coordinated system where bribes are passed from junior officers to their seniors through M-Pesa transactions.

Some of the officers could not satisfactorily explain why they sent such huge amounts of cash.

Among those so far mentioned are two officers of the rank of senior superintendent of police.

The commission had, however, by Monday evening, not decided whether the officers mentioned adversely would be subjected to fresh vetting or be given “Show Cause” letters to respond to the allegations.

The process, the commission said, was not bound by strict rules of evidence and the proof applicable was that of a balance of probabilities.

NPSC Chairman Johnston Kavuludi said that the exercise aimed at determining the competence and suitability of an officer based on the officer’s record, conduct and performance in the current position and in any other previous ones.

Investigations have also revealed that officers had devised “safer” ways of getting bribes from motorists through cash bails.

To evade anti-corruption officials, they insists that suspects deposit the cash at police stations.

Offenders are told to pay cash bail but later return the original cash bail receipt.

Others have been found to have colluded with or provided fake identification documents to M-Pesa agents and registered some lines where they receive money.

Investigations also show that some officers had at least two name tags, with one tag having a pseudo name to hide their identity, especially when at work.