Kenya: Corrupt Cops Caught In The Act (VIDEO)

By NTV

Traffic police officers caught on camera collecting bribes from motorists have been interdicted.

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Comments

[niko73]

Cool to see those phone cameras are being put to good use in Kenya!

Moshe, I appreciate your reminders that we have corruption here in America too, but there's simply no comparison. You can't drive home in Kenya without paying a bribe. You can't get a drivers licence or a passport without paying a bribe. It's ingrained in EVERY aspect of life.

[KIVPossum]

Same thing in many nations. In a way it is a bit better than America's system. There only the ig companies or the most prosperous criminals can afford to buy a politician, bureaucrat, or cop.

Other places the prices are more reasonable and everyone has the same opportunity.

[Doc0976]

This is not news, unfortunately. From Kenya to Liberia and all points in between, corruption is a way of life. A combination of factors makes corruption the most practical form of wage-earning in parts of Africa. First, you have incompetent or ineffective governments save a few, a perpetual lack of resources to regularly pay public officials and municipal workers...then you have the mentality. I'm not saying that EVERY person in Kenya or other parts of Africa is like this, but I have a well-evidenced theory. Life in parts of Africa is about day-to-day survival. Some people have lived through the ravages of war that many do not live to tell others about. Many generations are raised in this kind of chaotic environment, where no one is sure when the next riot will occur, when the next bloody coup will take place or when the rebel militia will come storming through their homes to take, rape and kill. People who are accustomed to this way of life tend to have a completely different moral framework, making bribery, corruption and other morally-deficient behavior the norm rather than the exception.

I'm not condoning it, I'm just explaining it.

[Rog49Thomas]

What does a traffic cop in Kenya earn?

If you've ever been to Kenya and outside Nairobi, you know that road maintenance is deferred so that the elite can use the money on more important things like funding their Swiss 401K retirement programs.

When folks get excited about corruption that is destroying the country, I will then get mildly excited about some cop taking a $2 bribe.

[Bluedogdemocrat8650]

No different from Miami, Florida, $10,00 toll that you have to pay as you enter and exit the interstate.

[czs5056]

gezz and here I was offered a bribe to turn a blind eye for people to park and turned it down. (I'm with Penn State's Student Auxiliary Police)

[KingofDetroit]

I wish more cops in the states took bribes. Instead of hauling me in for the w.e.e.d in my ashtray. Here's a $50 spot. No harm no foul, right officer?

[lungfish]

I don't think I would ever want a police force or officer I could bribe..... I'll take the fine. If you have ever been to Mexico and have had an encounter with their famously bribe-able police and military you would be very glad that you don't live there... sure a little money might get you out of trouble, for a moment, but you can never consider yourself safe nor can you think of the police as protection... As bad a rap as American cops have, and they deserve a lot of the negative press they get, there are at least some attempts to contain and control their negativity and the combination of YouTube and cell phone cameras everywhere makes coverups even more difficult.

When the Bart police murdered Oscar grant , they immediately tried to confiscate cell phone cameras of the Bart train passengers who filmed the murder to cover up their complicity. They failed and even though the city of Oakland, OPD, the DAs office all tried to cover up the situation, they were forced to prosecute the officer because several citizens got their videos to the TV stations... So even though there was corruption, there was no escape from accountability.

Maybe you should keep your herbs at home, its less to worry about when you are out in places that are intolerant...

[nexxtep54]

All police act like waiters , ,a hand out for a tip.

[voltage356]

When are they going to show the NYPD caught on tape video.

[KIVPossum]

Works the same way here in Moldova. The cops are the major criminal element.

To the best of my knowledge there is not a radar gun in the country; the police stand on the side of the road and know to the KPH you are going when you are 200 meters away. Then they wave their magic white wand and ask for your license. This is where the game begins.

They are going to walk off and talk, come back two or three times and ask a question, and go into another huddle. This will go on until 1 / you give them a bribe 2/ you waste so much of their time arguing with them they give up and go on to another prospect.

If you want to play the full game it'll take you a half hour to get your license back. My time is worth something so I usually have a 100 lei note in my hand the first time they come back to the car. Sometimes I'm not in a hurry so stay for the whole dance.

My car gets 40 k/ 4 liter = $5.60. My average road police toll exceeds that cost.

In 4 years here I have not heard of a single person actually being issued a ticket - speeding, reckless driving, stop sign/light violation.

[R]

Nothing "rogue" about this at all. It's an institution in Kenya. "Kitu kidogo" was commonplace while I was there. You either paid kitu kidogo, or you spent hours on the side of the road while the cop looked for bogus (or real) infractions. It was expected and accepted as part of life.

[Moshe]

After decades of driving with a spotless record, and then two totally bogus for-profit tickets in the last year, I think we may be accepting this as reality in the U.S..

Given the cash strapped status of state and local goverment, bogus traffic tickets are easy money, and picking the low hanging fruit with phony traps is the most efficient way to do this.

Tracking down the real criminals and dangers on the open road is tough work.

[chronic]

Looks like most societies are the same.

In America its called, "Traffic Court"!

[Moshe]

Sadly true, but well said.

And the disregard for the Rule of Law at the top is always quickly mirrored the bottom.

Richard Cheney would have been a corrupt cop, but as VP, has inspired millions to ignore the law and instead seek their own personal power and profit.

The only thing that separates a thoroughly corrupted banana republic from a democracy is the Rule of Law and its strict application to those with government power.

[samilli3]

well said...

[Cogs]

Cops taking bribes is news?

[Moshe]

Only in Kenya it appears.

[amdezurik]

looks like they are at least trying to clean it up, here in the US not so much...