Traffic police officers replace county marshals in Mombasa

A Mombasa County traffic marshal controls vehicles along Moi Avenue. All traffic marshals in Mombasa have been ordered out of the roads, a move believed to have been ordered by the Traffic Police Department. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By  MOHAMED AHMED

What you need to know:

  • The marshals have been a constant sight on the roads, especially in areas notorious for traffic jams.
  • Inspectorate Director Naheed Musa on Monday confirmed the withdrawal.
  • He said he had shared the information with Mombasa County Transport and Infrastructure Executive Tawfiq Balala.
  • However, Mr Balala said the order was made verbally.

Mombasa County traffic marshals have been ordered off the roads, a move believed to have been ordered by the Traffic Police Department.

This appears to be the latest turn of events following the withdrawal of the security details of governors Hassan Joho of Mombasa and Amason Kingi of Kilifi.

At least 100 county askaris policing streets in Mombasa County were removed from the roads Monday, leaving only the National Police Service traffic officers to monitor motorists.

Also Read

The marshals have been a constant sight on the roads, especially in areas notorious for traffic jams in and outside the city centre.

Contacted for comment, Inspectorate Director Naheed Musa on Monday confirmed the withdrawal and said he had shared the information with Mombasa County transport and infrastructure executive Tawfiq Balala after he received the directive.

However, Mr Balala said the order was made verbally.

ORDER TO REMOVE ASKARIS

“One of our senior askaris was called by the Nyali base commander, who asked him to withdraw all the officers in his area, and when we pursued it further with the seniors we were asked to remove all our askaris.

“We know the move is politically motivated in regards to what is going on between [the national] government and the governor,” Mr Balala told the Nation.

However, Coast regional traffic police boss Emmanuel Okanda, when reached for comment by the Nation, said he was unaware of the matter.

“May be there is a problem, but I am not aware of that. We should not blow things out of proportion. Let me check for more information,” said Mr Okanda when he was asked explain the removal of the askaris.

Traffic police officers have been working with the inspectorate department in manning roads in the county, especially in areas such as Nyali.

WARNING MEMO

Mr Balala said a memo from police headquarters warning officers against escorting and clearing roads for county government officials appeared to be mainly targeting Mombasa.

“The vehicles being used by the officers were those which had been donated by the county government. What they are doing is bullying and sabotaging efforts by the county government.

“But I can tell you for sure this is a disaster in waiting. You will see the problem in the evening. Our marshals were really assisting in dealing with jams in the city,” he added.

Over the weekend, the withdrawal of bodyguards for governors Joho and Kingi was followed by a memo signed by Senior Assistant Inspector-General of Police King’ori Mwangi warning that any officer providing escort and chase cars to the officials would face disciplinary action “including dismissal”.

“Police headquarters has noted with a lot of concern that police vehicles and officers are escorting county government officials and sometimes clearing roads at the expense of other road users,” the memo read.

In the headlines