When a police officer asks you for fuel, it is not corruption - Murkomen

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has defended police officers who have been soliciting ‘fuel’ from members of the public, saying such requests should not be mistaken for corruption.

Speaking during the Jukwaa La Usalama forum in Homa Bay town on Tuesday, Murkomen explained that the government allocates 450 litres of fuel per police vehicle every month, an amount he says is far below the operational needs of most stations.

He says that the allocation is often depleted before the end of the month, particularly in urban areas where officers are more frequently engaged in crime prevention.

“The reason police officers are asking for fuel is because it is the truth, I will not sugar-coat it. We give officers 450 litres of fuel per vehicle, and like the OCS said, by the 18th of every month, this allocation is usually depleted from all the trips to operation areas,” the minister said.

Murkomen said the government is reviewing the arrangement, with proposals underway to increase the monthly fuel allocation to 650 litres to improve efficiency in police operations.

“When officers say they cannot respond to distress calls because they do not have fuel, it is true. This is not an issue of corruption.”

At the same time, Murkomen sounded a stern warning to chiefs handling defilement cases in kangaroo courts, terming the practice illegal and detrimental to society.

He said any chiefs found shielding perpetrators or those personally involved in such crimes will not only be dismissed but also prosecuted.

“GBV and defilement cases should not be dealt with in Kangaroo courts; those are very serious crimes for which people must be arrested and investigated,” said the CS.

Murkomen called on citizens to cooperate with law enforcement to ensure justice, particularly in cases involving children, and to help eliminate defilement in communities.