Douglas Mburu Ndonye had a taste of his own medicine after he was compelled to spend a night behind bars following his arrest on Thursday, February 1.
Mburu who was described as a notorious police officer was filmed and apprehended red-handed while demanding bribe from several vehicles along Kitale-Kapenguria Road near the Kenya Seed Company.
The officer was caught after detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) laid traps to find him in the act. Detectives mounted cameras and others posed as motorists along that busy highway before pouncing on him.
After the arrest, EACC officers recovered the money he had collected all day from the vehicles plying that route.
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"Following investigations into numerous complaints, the Commission, through its North Rift Regional Office, Eldoret, today arrested a notorious Traffic Police Rider No. 86138 PC/R Douglas Mburu Ndonye who collects bribes along Kitale-Kapenguria Road near the Kenya Seed Company," EACC stated.
"PC Ndonye is among three police officers notorious for bribe collection in Kitale, including one famously known in the area as Wafula. They have been observed on several days openly extorting money from motorists along that road. The others evaded the Commission's dragnet and are being pursued."
However, during the operation, a scuffle ensued after detectives noticed a journalist recording them. The detectives confronted the photojournalist attached to the Standard and ordered him to stop.
The journalist was reportedly assaulted by the EACC detectives before driving away with the arrested police officer.
EACC however denied assault claims indicating that the said photojournalist appeared drunk and was distracting their operation by recording and attracting public attention.
Eric Ngumbi, EACC spokesperson further explained that the journalist was ordered to stop recording as he was risking the lives of detectives and jeopardising their mission.
"A preliminary inquiry reveals that an unknown person who was visibly drunk appeared in the operation zone where EACC detectives were effecting an arrest of a traffic police officer and started taking videos of the EACC officers and their vehicles, without authority."
"On inquiry, the individual charged that he was a journalist doing his work and refused to identify himself further. He also refused to heed the call to stop filming detectives and their vehicles."
"Notably, such sting operations pose serious risks even to the EACC officers conducting them and are thus subject to the prescribed safety and security standards/ procedures."
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