NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 6 – The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested a police officer attached to the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) at the Isinya Weighbridge over allegations that he demanded and received a Sh60,000 bribe from a motorist.
The officer, Corporal Kennedy Monyo Waweru, was arrested on Monday, October 5, after investigators mounted an operation following a complaint lodged with the anti-graft agency three days earlier.
According to the EACC, the complainant reported on October 2 that Waweru had demanded Sh60,000 in exchange for influencing the traffic charge the motorist would face.
The officer allegedly offered to have the motorist charged with the lesser offence of failing to stop instead of evading a weighbridge, which was the offence initially under consideration.
EACC said its investigators subsequently conducted investigations into the complaint before arresting the officer after he allegedly received the money.
Waweru was taken to Kilimani Police Station, where he was processed as investigators complete the inquiry before the matter is taken through the next stage of the criminal justice process.
The arrest has once again drawn attention to longstanding corruption concerns at weighbridges, where enforcement officers and other personnel exercise significant control over commercial vehicles and can determine whether trucks proceed with their journeys.
Weighbridges are used to check the weight of heavy commercial vehicles and enforce axle-load limits, which are intended to protect roads from premature damage and improve road safety.
Previous investigations have exposed allegations of motorists and truck operators being asked for money to avoid enforcement action over overloading and other traffic violations.
In one case documented by the EACC, officers attached to the Mlolongo Weighbridge were investigated after allegations that they demanded money from truck drivers in exchange for overlooking traffic offences.
A 2020 court judgment records allegations that two police officers requested between Sh1,500 and Sh10,000 from truck drivers to forbear enforcing traffic laws.
The anti-graft agency has also previously investigated allegations involving weighbridge personnel at the Mariakani facility, where complaints centred on police officers and private weighbridge employees allegedly colluding to demand bribes from overloaded trucks to allow them to pass without enforcement of axle-load regulations.
In another investigation, the EACC established that an employee of SGS Kenya at the Mtwapa Weighbridge had allegedly requested Sh30,000 to facilitate the release of a truck detained for overloading. Investigators established that Sh22,000 was allegedly paid after negotiations. The matter was subsequently forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration.
The commission has also previously reported investigations into allegations that employees at the Webuye and Malava weighbridges received money from transport companies to allow trucks to bypass weighing procedures. According to the EACC, some of the alleged payments were made through a nearby M-Pesa outlet.
More recently, the EACC reported surveillance operations targeting traffic officers along the Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret highway following complaints of motorists being asked for bribes. A 2025 Kenya Gazette report says the commission conducted surveillance around the Salgaa traffic checkpoint and recorded officers allegedly receiving money from motorists believed to be bribes.
Five officers were subsequently arrested, although the EACC said the money recovered from them could not be linked to corrupt conduct and the case was forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration of administrative action.
The EACC has urged members of the public to report suspected corruption and bribery, saying information from citizens remains critical in detecting and investigating graft.
