From tea to fuel, changing faces of bribes that Murkomen risks normalising

Facing criticism over remarks that the public should support police officers by providing them with fuel for patrols, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen is doubling down.

Murkomen, on Friday, insisted that such facilitation does not constitute corruption, and that it is in line with the realities facing police officers, who often lack sufficient fuel allocations to run their vehicles throughout the month.

“These people writing newspapers have never interacted with the police. Is it news that the fuel allocation is depleted before the end of the month?” Murkomen, visibly agitated over news reports that questioned his remarks, posed. “We only allocate 450 litres of fuel to the police, and when they say they are out of fuel, we call them corrupt. Let us not be stupid.”

 While he said that fuel allocations to police stations would be enhanced, the damage, enabling corruption, might have already been done.

 For years, police officers in Kenya have been notorious for demanding ‘fuel’ – a euphemism for ‘bribe’ – from Kenyans seeking their services at different stations, a culture that many fear the government now wants to normalise.

 The fear is that an endorsement like Murkomen’s would push access to justice further beyond the reach of struggling Kenyans, and entrench corruption deeper within a service that perennially ranks as Kenya’s most corrupt institution. A report by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission released last month identified the National Police Service as the most unethical and corrupt.

 Many Kenyans are extorted when seeking the services of law enforcement agencies. In many instances, some officers will not commence investigations without a bribe, never mind the heavy taxes citizens fork out to support the service’s more than Sh100 billion annual budget.

 “The basic requirement for any government is to protect life and property, and that is why we pay taxes. This is a government that seems to have forgotten its primary role,” Kiroko Ndegwa, a lawyer who defended protest victims, said on Thursday’s episode of the Unfiltered podcast.

 Others bribe their way out of trouble. Kevin Odhiambo, a businessman in Nairobi, said he has had to do so thrice.

 "I was arrested for not having a mask and I paid a Sh500 bribe," he said, adding that he had been stopped by officers when walking in central Nairobi on two other occasions.

 "They searched my bag and found my work tools and demanded I produce receipts. I had to bribe them because I did not want to be taken to the station," added Odhiambo, who said he fears reporting any matter at the police station for fear that officers could turn the tables on him.

 Traffic police officers have been the most notorious in this department. They line up along major and minor roads across the country, mostly collecting bribes from commercial vehicles.

 Public service vehicles are often required to part with ‘tea’ at every point these officers are stationed, such as the Kwa Maji and Umoja III stages along Kangundo Road, located within Nairobi’s Eastlands, where vehicles are routinely stopped for bribes.

 Many years after musician Eric Wainaina released his Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo hit, chai (tea) has remained a reference for bribes collected by traffic officers.

 “Chai kwao imekuwa kama dawa. Wakiamka lazima wachukue dose ya asubuhi (Bribes to them are like medicine. They cannot miss their morning dose,” said a matatu driver plying the Kangundo Road route who declined to be named, fearing reprisal. He said he dishes out Sh100 at five different stops, once every day.

 “Uzuri nikimalizana nao hawanisumbui hadi kesho (The good thing is that they do not nag after getting their share),” added the driver, who said the “stubborn” ones are taken to police stations where they part with higher bribes.

 Murkomen’s directive threatens to embolden officers into seeking bribes without fear of retribution, thus jeopardizing security, experts warned.

 “What Murkomen is saying is ‘please understand these corrupt officers.’ One of the hindrances to access to justice is finances, and when you now ask Kenyans to fuel vehicles, you are creating more financial hindrances,” added Kiroko.

 Odhiambo, the businessman, said Murkomen's directive would make bribery "official policy."

 "If it (bribery) is already as bad as it is now, how much worse will it get with Murkomen's go-ahead?" Odhiambo, who  said Murkomen's remarks were regrettable, posed. "It is sad because imagine someone reporting a break-in at their place, asked to part with 'fuel.' They will be losing twice - through theft and bribery."

 This will not be the first time the government has seemingly encouraged a societal ill. Months ago, Murkomen faced criticism for directing police officers to shoot people who would storm police stations, equating them to terrorists.

 As he ranted about anti-government protests that had convulsed the country, Murkomen would say he would not have minded if the police had shot some protesters who raided a police station, promising them some protection.

 “We will not cooperate with anybody who is trying to punish police officers who have done their job or protected their lives. It won’t be possible,” Murkomen said in June.

 President William Ruto was also criticised over a directive that police officers should shoot rioters in the leg, with many terming the move a violation of human rights.

 The danger of entrenching wrongdoing is not lost on Kenya. For years, the state has relied on organised criminals to fight its political wars.

 Recently, state functionaries have been accused of procuring goons to thwart opposition events and youth-led protests. The police have encouraged them on by turning a blind eye as they wreak havoc, emboldening them in their brutality. In the absence of political activity, the goons have moved into central Nairobi to terrorise Kenyans.

 The Mungiki sect, which was similarly facilitated by political players, grew a life of its own, terrorising residents of the former Central Province and Nairobi.