Should Parliament approve the 2023 Bribery (Amendment) Bill, Kenyan motorists will soon be relieved of the need to drive around with a Kes.50 note for bribery purposes, as the Bill seeks to introduce CCTVs for nationwide road monitoring.
The primary goal of the Bill is to implement anti-bribery measures for the National Police Service, ultimately eliminating the presence of traffic cops on Kenya’s roads.
Sponsored by Bomachoge Borabu MP Barango Obadiah, the Bill proposes the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in all areas where traffic police are stationed, aiming to eradicate the physical presence of law enforcers.
“The objective of the Bill is to amend the Bribery Act, 2016 by inserting a new section 10(A) which highlights anti-bribery measures for the National Police Service,” Mr Barango told the Budget and Appropriations Committee during the scrutiny of the Bill.
“These measures include coordination of CCTV cameras in all areas where traffic police are situated, taking action against an officer accepting a bribe in the designated area, commissioning police uniforms that have no pockets, and ensuring the CCTV cameras at designated traffic areas are maintained.”
8 IPOA-manned Command Centres
The Bill sets up eight multi-agency command centers responsible for storing CCTV footage from designated areas.
These command centers will be staffed by officers nominated by both the National Police Service and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority.
The Bribery Act also establishes a framework for preventing, investigating, and penalizing bribery. It mandates both public and private entities to implement measures for preventing corruption.
“We need to remove the human interaction with motorists on our roads which has resulted in open bribery. The CCTVs will replace police officers in the designated traffic areas,” Mr Barango told the committee.
“Police officers who will be stationed in the designated areas to man the CCTV command centres in eight regions of the country will not be allowed to move outside of the designated area.”
The scrutiny of the Bill by the committee chaired by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro continues.
