A police officer was on Wednesday injured by a gunshot while another suffered a broken leg during a sting operation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to nab traffic policemen suspected of soliciting bribes from motorists along Kisumu roads.
The bullet, according to Nyanza Regional Police Commander (RPC), Dr. Vincent Makhokha accidently hit the woman officer, who was reportedly at a safer distance, on the thigh after a scuffle ensued as the EACC officials tried to disarm and apprehend one of her fellow traffic police officer.
The other officer reportedly sustained leg injuries after he fell down while attempting to flee from the EACC detectives during the incidents that unfolded in two separate places at Mamboleo junction and along the Kisumu-Airport road at around eight in the morning.
Makhokha maintained that the National Police Service would stop at nothing in the drive to rid government institutions of corruption-including the police department.
He was together with the EACC Western region officer, George Oira during a presser at the latter’s offices later in the day where both reiterated the resolve to work as a team in maintaining law and order in the region.
Oira disclosed that some money was recovered during the operations but the exact amount of which could not be ascertained as the bulk of the amounts is suspected to have been lost in the commotion that erupted during the arrests.
The security chiefs were however confident that the twist surrounding the cash evidence would not derail the investigations with the suspects files already processed by the EACC for forwarding to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
“Money as evidence is not the only consideration, a public officer is expected to behave with a certain decorum and remember, a person’s behavioural disposition in itself speaks a lot in matters investigation,” Makhokha explained
The police boss also disclosed that the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) officials have seized and will carry out ballistic tests for all the guns placed at the scene of the operation to establish the exact police that fired the stray bullet.
He further revealed that the wounded officer was in a stable condition and that an ambulance had evacuated the other injured officer for medical attention picking him at the EACC offices given he was unable to move on his own.
The EACC boss vowed that the agency would continue with the abrupt stingy operations and encouraged members of the public to continue raising the red flag on routes that have been invaded by rogue cops as they did leading to today’s arrests.
The suspects will be released on police bail and are expected to be arraigned before the courts in less than 4 weeks pending directives by the DPP.
By Milton Onyango
