A traffic police officer in Bomet County is under probe after he allegedly grabbed the keys to a Toyota Probox vehicle and reversed it into a ditch.
According to reports, the incident was prompted by a disagreement between the officer and the vehicle's driver over a bribe.
A female pedestrian was injured during the incident after she was knocked down by the car. She was rushed to a nearby hospital by good samaritans where she is currently undergoing treatment.
The incident occurred on Sunday, January 30, 2022, when police officers flagged down the vehicle at the Tenwek bridge on the Silibwet-Merigi–Kiptagich road in Bomet Central sub-county.
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“When the driver slowed down and parked the vehicle by the roadside, one of the police officers … grabbed the keys from the driver without offering any explanation,” a passenger in the vehicle stated.
The passenger revealed that the vehicle had been hired by a family from Keringet in Kuresoi South to take them to Bomet to visit a sick relative.
The vehicle had four passengers when it was stopped by two police officers who were manning the roadblock.
Following the incident, the police officers called for a tow truck to take the vehicle to the local police station. This was as residents pushed the vehicle out of the ditch.
According to reports, the officer's actions were prompted by an incident the previous day, whereby the driver had failed to pay a daily fee imposed by police on matatu's plying the route.
Further reports indicate that drivers of matatus and Toyota Proboxes, which are popular among travellers in the region, pay a Ksh200 daily fee to the officers at various roadblocks, with or without any traffic offences.
When the tow truck arrived, residents blocked it from towing away the vehicle.
“The attempt to tow the vehicle was meant to divert attention from the crime committed by the officer and turn the heat on the driver. We could not allow that to happen when it was very clear who was in the wrong,” a resident said.
