Utumishi Kwa Wote

Kenyans like to think of ourselves as the elder brothers in the East African community and as such are sometimes reluctant to learn from our immediate “smaller brothers” neighbours. After the Sunday I had I’ve found one area in which Kenya could learn from Uganda.

When I was in Kampala (BDIS) I noticed that many police officers carried a folder filled with a neat pile of paper. I learnt that these sheets of paper are actually tickets for traffic offences. On one side of the form the police officer fills in your details and details of the offence. On the other side of the form is a list of traffic offences and next to each offence the amount, in Ugandan shillings, of the fine for that offence. Once the ticket is issued you have 30 days to go to the bank and pay the fine. If you fail to do so, your car’s road licence and your driving licence will be suspended and not renewed until you have made the payment. Apparently the form also has information on the steps to take if you wish to dispute the ticket.

A couple of things stand out to me:

1. The amount of the fine for each offence is printed on the paper. The police officer can not inflate the amount you are meant to be fined as it is there in black and white for both of you to see.
2. In any case, the police officer never handles the money. Once the ticket is issued you go to the bank and pay the fine there.
3. You have 30 days in which to pay the fine. Giving a full monthly circle is sensible as it allows a reasonable amount of time to raise the money.

Compare that to Kenya.

A simple traffic offence, for example parking obstruction, not having a hazard triangle or talking on your mobile phone while driving, can land you in jail. Yes, jail. You can be arrested, taken to a police station, charged and thrown into jail, with thugs, thieves and murders.

In addition you may not be informed of the option to pay a bond and if you are, the amount to pay may vary considerably depending on which officer you are talking to. That is if there is a senior officer available to sign the bond form in the first place. If there is no such officer available, you wait. If they come after 6pm, you sleep in jail and pay the next day after being dragged to court.

In addition (yes there are many additions) your car may be impounded and not released until you have appeared in court. If you have the misfortune of being arrested on Friday evening, it could take until Monday morning before you appear in court. Three nights in the slammer; for not having standard headlights, for having a faulty seatbelt or for not wearing a seatbelt when one is available. That can not be an efficient or even sensible use of police time and state resources.

I do agree that there are some driving offences for which there are compelling arguments for some jail time; perhaps drink driving or extremely dangerous driving. But dragging a guy to jail on a Sunday because he was parked on the side of the road while be bought vegetables in an area with no formal parking is ridiculous.

The most irritating thing about the whole episode was the txts I kept getting from someone who thinks nothing can possibly be going on that has nothing to do with them! Aiii the world does not rotate on your axis! Even more irritating was that I missed most of AMREF’s 50 years celebration concert which looked sawa sawa.

(Utumishi Kwa Wote (Service to All) is the motto of the Kenyan Police Force.)

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In other much more joyful news, Kenyan Pundit is now Mama Gabriella (aka Baby KP). Congratulations! Check out Kenyan Pundit for a picture of the cute little one.