Our seniors force us to take bribes- police officer

It is not surprising but it is news. A police officer has intimated to The Drone Media that senior police officers force their juniors to take bribes. A visibly distressed officer narrated how the ill act is tactifully applied.

The police officer said that if you are assigned to a file and you do not yield anything,but you only aim at prosecuting the suspect, you will not be assigned regularly. Besides, if at all you are assigned, the boss will give  you a  file that is really dry.

He said it is very easy to prove this trend of bribery in police. The officer told The Drone Media that it is the reason you see senior police officers back in offices after 5pm and dressed in civilian clothes. The official working hours end, but they return to collect money from juniors who have been handling casefiles.

Majority of Ugandan respondents in a nationwide survey believe that the country’s police are very corrupt. Pegging police corruption at a whooping 75% with relation to bribery, fraud and extortion.

This was contained in a report titled ‘‘National Service Delivery Survey  a few years ago‘ released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistic (UBOS). This has ranked Uganda Police Force as the most corrupt government institution.

“Majority of the respondents ranked the police as most corrupt government institution. There is need for strengthening enforcement of laws on corruption,” read the report.

The Drone Media also carried out an independent investigation on various police stations like Katwe, CPS and Jinja Road Police, the results showed that there is impunity at police stations.The officers use blackmail, they threaten and assume the powers of courts law. In this confusion, the suspects are tricked to bribe their way out.