'Stop bribing police officers, sometimes they cannot resist!' President Ruto tells Kenyans

President William Ruto now says that Kenyans have a hand in the current rise of corruption in the country, especially within the police sector.

Speaking on Thursday during a town hall meeting in Kisumu, the President said that citizens have played a role in fuelling graft through bribery.

Despite admitting that police officers who extort Kenyans or demand bribes should be held accountable for their actions, President Ruto likewise said civilians who dish out money to the officers for favours or to avoid arrests should also be blamed for the increased corruption.

The Head of State, in defence of the men and women in uniform, argued that police officers – being humans – may sometimes fail to resist the urge to collect bribes and thus it should not be deemed entirely to be their fault.

“There is serious impunity and this is something we must deal with as Kenyans. There are people who actively induce policemen with money. I think it is time that we as Kenyans stopped the culture of bribing the police,” he said.

“Because sometimes policemen cannot resist the offers and advances made to them. We must deal with this corruption thing from all angles.”

He added: “We must make sure we take action on police who ask for the money and Kenyans who give money must also be told they are part of the problem and I don’t know who is going to tell them. We need to tell ourselves to stop that culture.”

Consequently, President Ruto said that the government was working to streamline the police sector by digitising all its services including the Occurrence Book (OB).

According to Ruto, modernising police facilities would help to monitor their operations in real-time and ensure cases of lost police records are averted.

“We have decided that we are going to digitise all police stations and even make sure that OB is digital so that from every place we can know what is happening and that reports don’t disappear,” he noted.

“There is a program and plan to digitise, first of all, we are piloting the OB, so that we are able to keep track of what is going on but then there is also the broader police modernisation programs that include equipping and also improving the facilities they have.”

Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo on his part said the government would set up CCTV cameras to increase surveillance of police activities.

“There is a proposal that the gentleman has of CCTV and I think that even in major cities in Nairobi and Mombasa to help policeman the streets and accountability on the police,” he stated.