TOUGH CHOICES ON KENYA ROADS- TO BRIBE OR NOT TO BRIBE

Wednesday 18th November was a bright day like any other, the sun was out, Nairobians were rushing to their places of work to cement and be assuranced of a meal for their families. For me this was to be a promising day- I woke-up earlier than usual hoping to beat the long snail traffic evident on our roads every morning.

I had deadlines to meet and reports to submit to our partners; in precise it promised to be a busier day than any other. On my way to the office (which is opposite traffic flow) I drove moderately quick, since i left earlier before the peak hours.

While approaching Outering road which I often use, i had to wait for a record twenty minutes without securing a line into the main road. Having been patient enough I opted to plead with other motorists to allow me access to the main road. To retain the juicy part of the experience- the traffic policeman approached from the rear widow and asked me for my drivers license, which I issued without hesitation.

‘park the car aside and hand over the keys (to me)’- were the next words I heard from him. Still in shock,mainly resulted from the information vacuum and lack of details for whatever mistake offence i had committed; I obliged and as any law abiding citizen stepped out and as instructed earlier,handed over the car keys. Still in shock on what was going on.. I heard the commanding voice once more directing me to enter the awaiting police vehicle (which later I came to know is called ‘Sanduku’- box in Swahili language). While in the van I recalled accent memories of matatus we used down our rural village. We used to sit facing each other as clients in a hospital patiently waiting to consult a doctor. Gender concerns were no excuse to the police who bundled both into now-full van.

As we set off (i quickly flushed into memories of the post-election violence when it was a common occurrence to be bundled into police car), i noticed through the window my car being towed off without my consent. At this stage I was boiling-up slowly like a volcano awaiting eruption. Meanwhile experiences were being shared inside the van by the ‘well informed’ touts who also made up the largest number of those arrested.

One tout who used that route frequently was confident about what he termed ‘procedure’. He went on to narrate to me how he had parted with four hundred shilling a split second earlier. ‘I had been arrested (by a junior officer) for over-taking but quickly gave four hundred for my release’- he said. He added- ‘but few meters away was arrested by his senior and charged with expired TLB’. Here I was in total disbelief and numb. As part of reciprocal conversation I narrated my story and he asked me ‘why didn’t you bribe?’. My simple answer was I cant bribe let me be arraigned to court….he laughed and wondered how barbaric and uninformed I was. As the conversation heated up; he posed a question which lingered in my mind the whole day. ‘Do you think you can finish corruption in Kenya alone?’ he went on to say- ‘we don’t pay bribe because we have a lot of money…we do it to save time and frustration from our system’.

Each gave their storyline seeking attention and sympathy from those inside the police van.

Within few minutes we were on the last junction towards the police station (a place I have dreaded my entire life). At the station we were registered and quickly taken to the cell and locked in. At this point, my entire thinking faculty was off and not functioning normally. My alleged mistake was petty (traffic offence) but here we were mixed with criminals, burglars and all sorts of people associated with crime. As time was ticking off, I wondered aloud why the police force lacked think-tanks and officers with voice of reason. Being a Wednesday and more so a working day I was meant to be in the office but maybe not due to corrupt people and slow system. I wondered why confine one for six hours with something resolvable at the arrest scene? Why the policemen at the station were so rude to a citizen whom they expect help from in the community policing initiative?

While still at the station shoddy deals were evident with police officers streaming into the cell to get a ‘catch’. One by one, those with ability to cough-out something from their pockets were released while others remain in the cell. A conversation with matatu touts revealed that the long wait at the station before being arraigned in court was a ‘grace period’- a time to make those important calls for 911 rescue teams. Relatives, friends or colleagues who would intercede on our behalf to be freed.

After two hours of wait at the cell we left for the Makadara law court. Place that will take miracles to erase from my memories. The cells were dirty, dusty, crowded and had unpleasant oduor emanating from the toilets which may have blocked a year or so ago and went ignored. The smell at the cell and the corridors left me wondering how possible on earth the police officers were able to work in comfort just 3 meters from the toilet.

Later I concluded that this kind of working condition may have contributed to the brutality shown by the police force during the last year’s post-election violence.

The bitterness and time wasting during the entire lesson with the police triggered a serious reflection on what the tout had asked me that morning. The frustration, the kind of mis-handling and the experience of pain from the police would compel any Kenyan to bribe I silently thought. Bribing seemed cheaper way out based on my experience. What would have been the worse scenario- 1. Losing my job because of absconding. 2. Withholding any vital information from the police as a result of the fear and hostility I encountered. 3. Rethinking my position on bribing and the fight on corruption.

The delaying and frustrating system was fueling corruption in our police force. Loopholes in our Justice system facilitate corruption. Thesaurus dictionary uses words like- obstacle, barrier, impediment, hindrance, stumbling block, difficulty as words that can be used to replace obstruction. One cannot be charged for obstruction / obstructing traffic flow and be arraigned in court alone. There has to be witnesses obstructed, present in the court to justify/ testify how they were obstructed. But because of our system this is only possible in Kenya. A layman afraid of the police and their harassment will prefer to part with 1000 bob as bribe instead of 9,500 I ended up paying including 2,500 for towing a car which could move. The absence of the arresting officer in the court at the time of case makes it complicated and difficult for one to say no to cases.

The junior police officers, who in most cases interact with the public, need to be trained on PR to improve the dented image of the Kenya police force. Kenyans are willing to work with the police but something has to change in their operations and procedures.