EACC Criticised Over ‘Dramatic and Inhumane’ Roadside Arrests Of Traffic Police

By Suleiman Mbatiah

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has come under criticism over what a senior community policing official termed inhumane and dramatic arrests of suspected corrupt traffic officers while on duty on public roads.

Dr Stanley Kamau, the National Community Policing Ambassador, said the public spectacle in which officers are chased and bundled into vans undermines dignity and fuels harassment of police by civilians.

He spoke on Saturday during a Valentine’s Day celebration for female police officers from the South Rift Region held at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru, attended by security commanders and invited guests.

Dr Kamau, who is also the chief executive of Ahadi Kenya Trust, an anti-jigger campaign organisation, said he does not condone corruption but questioned the manner in which suspected officers are arrested while on duty.

“I want to ask the Inspector-General of Police and the director of the EACC to sit together and come up with a formula. There is a better way to handle our officers when they are on duty,” he stated.

He said traffic officers on the road are effectively in their workplaces and should be treated with the same procedural fairness accorded to governors, members of parliament and chief executives facing corruption allegations.

He called for reforms to start “from the top” to restore confidence and protect officers’ dignity, while maintaining that corruption within the service must be confronted firmly and lawfully.

“Let evidence be gathered and then let them be summoned. When the public sees officers running away or being chased, it creates a negative perception and encourages civilians to mistreat them,” he said.

On welfare, he said police officers take significant risks in the line of duty and deserve recognition and improved working conditions, including housing, equipment and infrastructure upgrades.

Rift Valley Region Administration Police Service Commander John Amadadi said the Valentine’s Day event had the blessing of the Inspector-General and aimed to appreciate female officers’ service and sacrifices.

Amadadi urged officers to value themselves and encouraged men to support relationships with women in uniform, noting frequent transfers often strain marriages and leave some as single mothers.

“When an officer is transferred, it does not mean the relationship should end,” he said, appealing to men who had separated from police spouses due to postings to reconsider and support their families.

He said the service has made notable progress in advancing gender inclusion over the years and pledged sustained institutional support to ensure female officers across the region are empowered, protected and given equal opportunities to grow.

Event organiser Martha Wanjiku Macharia, director of Mima Entertainment and founder of the Askari Jibambe initiative, said the programme focuses on mental wellness and team building for police officers.

“Today we are giving them that space and reminding them they are valued,” she said adding that many officers struggle silently with stress and family pressures but lack safe platforms to speak openly.

Wanjiku announced a planned mental wellness walk from Nakuru to Naivasha later this month to raise awareness and rally support for the psychological wellbeing of National Police Service officers.

She urged members of the public and partners to join the initiative, saying officers are often judged harshly yet face demanding work conditions that require empathy and structured support.

The EACC had not responded to the criticism by the time of publication.