Nairobi, KENYA: Matatu owners Association has called on the government to initiate a lifestyle audit for trafficpolice officers in a bid to fight corruption menace.
Speaking in Nairobi on Thursday, the chairperson of Matatu Owners Association Simon Kimutai during a meeting between his association and officials drawn from Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission said that there is a need for the police officers to be subjected to the audit to ascertain whether their lifestyle commensurate with their pay.
“It is not bad to drive a big car, why do all of them have vehicles that do not commensurate with their income? And what we only know they do is to enforce laws. Why do we have a big difference between a traffic police officer and a regular policeman ?” Kimutai asked.
“There is need for the audit for their lifestyles .”Kimutai added
He said that corruption has immensely affected their business in the sector due to corruption urging their members and other Matatu operators to follow the law when settling any breach of the law.
“We would want to take it head on and tell them we have had enough of losing our hard earned money and that we need the anticorruption to be our very close partner, in eradicating the same,” Kimutai said.
Kimutai said that the meeting between the association and the commission was to look for pragmatic ways of dealing with the menace, in order to enhance sanity and rule of law in the sector.
He slammed some of the police officers and Matatu operators who engage in corrupt tendencies which hamper the growth of the sector and economy as a whole.
He warned Matatu Saccos which are operating within cities and certain areas to avoid breaking the law during the festive season instead be compliant with the law as stipulated in the traffic laws.
Their members called on the commission to enhance their fight against the menace in the Matatu sector warning that if not tackled earlier, it might go overboard thus turn out to detrimental.
