Wycliffe Musinde
Busia, Kenya.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested five traffic police officers accused of extorting bribes from motorists along the Kisumu–Busia Highway, in a sting operation targeting entrenched corruption on one of Kenya’s busiest routes.
The Thursday morning operation was conducted at a well-known roadblock about five kilometres from Busia Town, where the officers—attached to Busia Police Station—were allegedly caught red-handed receiving bribes.
The suspects were identified as Corporals Hezron Aburi and Mary Nabei, and Constables James Weru, Mwakwekwe Nyoka, and Aisha Abdullahi.
According to EACC sources, the arrests followed weeks of intelligence gathering and surveillance after repeated public complaints from drivers and local residents.
Investigators reportedly monitored the officers for over two weeks, documenting how they routinely demanded cash from public service vehicle operators, truck drivers, and private motorists—often without conducting any lawful traffic checks.
The team is said to have used a privately owned Toyota Fielder vehicle to temporarily stash the cash collected from bribes before sharing it among themselves.
Following the arrests, the five were taken to the EACC Western Regional Office in Bungoma for interrogation before being booked at Bungoma Police Station. They are expected to be charged in court on Friday as part of a wider probe into systemic police extortion along the corridor.
EACC Chairperson David Oginde reiterated the commission’s zero-tolerance policy on corruption, emphasizing that all public officers found engaging in bribery would be held fully accountable under the law.
Although the amounts involved in Thursday’s operation were not disclosed, the EACC’s 2024 National Ethics and Corruption Survey ranked police officers as the most corrupt public officials in Kenya, with an average bribe of KSh4,878.
Drivers plying the Kisumu–Busia route frequently report being coerced to pay between KSh50 and KSh200 for fabricated traffic offences.
The National Police Service (NPS) has publicly backed the EACC’s anti-graft drive, with Inspector General Douglas Kanja having previously warned that officers caught extorting the public would face disciplinary action and prosecution.
EACC has urged motorists to continue reporting similar incidents through its toll-free line and digital whistleblowing platforms, pledging to intensify surveillance along high-risk transport corridors.
The Kisumu–Busia Highway is a critical artery for cross-border trade between Kenya and Uganda, and Thursday’s arrests form part of a broader nationwide effort to restore public trust in law enforcement. Further arrests are expected as investigations continue.