A traffic police officer who has been working along Garissa-Thika highway has signed a deal with EACC, where he is set to return Sh26 million alleged to be proceeds of corruption.
According to reports on Business Daily, the officer identified as Jamal Bare Mohammed, a police rider along the busy highway accepted the deal in a bid to settle his corruption case that has been ongoing since 2017.
The anti-corruption agency has reportedly been pursuing the officer over Sh47 million linked to bribes. However, only Sh26.1 million had been frozen at a local bank as the case proceeded.
“The sum of Sh26,193,071 held in Equity Bank account number (withheld) in the name of Jamal Bare Mohamed be and is hereby forfeited to the government,” an agreement submitted to the court read in part as quoted by the publication.
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EACC headquarters in Nairobi . [Photo: Courtesy]
According to EACC, negotiation between Bare and the agency has been ongoing for the past one year, but an agreement was yet to be arrived at.
EACC further noted that the officer had made an earlier offer, but the amount he offered was too little, therefore, they did not reach a settlement at that point.
While defending his wealth, Bare argued that he is a livestock trader, noting that he inherited animals from his late father.
However, EACC maintained that he officer was engaged in corruption, adding that they tracked and recorded him receiving bribes after numerous complaints.
“During the six years, we established that he had cumulative assets, cash and land valued at Sh47 million. He had banked Sh26 million, which has been frozen through a court order,” EACC said in its submission to the court.
In the Kenyan Constitution, EACC is allowed to negotiate with corruption suspects in a bid to recover proceeds of the illegal act.
