Since roads have been clogged in many parts of Dar es Salaam and traffic
police officers have been inadequate in dealing with the situation
community police have been deployed in some areas but they are being
accused of being corrupt. PHOTO | FILE
In Summary
Traffic Police Commander Mohammed Mpinga admitted that the programme despite bringing positive impacts, faces such challenges.
Dar es Salaam. Some volunteers in traffic policing are soliciting bribes.
They also harass motorists to extort them, The Citizen on Sunday has learnt.
At various parts of the city which have traffic
jams, the community traffic policemen are deployed to assist traffic
police to decongest roads.
This system was introduced over the last two years since the traffic police were overwhelmed by the work.
This paper has established that many motorists
have fallen victim to some unscrupulous community policemen who
apprehend them at peak hours and solicit bribes.
At the Kigogo junction, a motorcyclist said he was
held for about half an hour by community traffic policeman for not
wearing a helmet and forced to pay a Sh5,000 bribe.
“I refused to pay the money,.I told him that the motorcycle belonged to a soldier. I gave him a mobile phone to talk to the owner and he let me go,” said Mr Juma Maulidi, who operates a bodaboda off Nyerere Road.
Traffic Police Commander Mohammed Mpinga admitted that the programme despite bringing positive impacts, faces such challenges.
He said some traffic community policemen and women were unethical.
“We have heard of such reports from various areas
over members of community traffic police soliciting bribes, and we have
so far fired some of them over the problem,” Mr Mpinga said. He said in
most cases such problems occur as some of them take advantage of those traffic police reflector jackets by stepping out of their bounds to harass drivers, Mr Mpinga noted.
He called on the members of the public to report
those community policemen who engage in dubious deals so that
responsible authorities could take measures against them.
“Previously, during a pilot study, the initiative
started at Buguruni where the traffic congestion was severe and it dealt
with the matter successfully. Then we introduced it in other parts of
the city,” he said.
He said the community traffic policemen, who were selected among
the drivers and conductors of commuter buses (daladala), were being
paid by their regional association.
The association raises funds to pay the community
police by collecting ‘fees for community policing’ from the commuter
buses in particular areas. One of the community traffic policemen said
he was receiving a monthly allowance, but declined to divulge the
amount.
For many years, he was working as daladala driver. He still does the work from morning to midday. Then he starts serving as the community traffic police at Kigogo.
Source: The citizen
Source: The citizen
