Corruption claims and OCS transfers plague Bondeni police station

Bondeni estate has always been purported to be a hotbed of crime in Nakuru county, and residents are not pleased.

According to them, the station that is supposed to serve and protect them, Bondeni Police Station, located in what they term the heart of the confirm gang paradise, has the highest turnover regarding the number of officers in charge posted there.

The station, which serves over 6,000 residents, has witnessed four Officers Commanding Station (OCS) changes in the past five years.

According to locals, during this period, only one OCS has managed to serve two consecutive years in recent times.

Mtaa Wangu sought to confirm this and talked to a resident over the phone who, due to fear of discrimination, sought anonymity.

We found out that since 2019 to date, Bondeni Police Station has had four OCSs and only one of the four has stayed the longest (two years).

“Since 2019 to date, I’d say we have quite a number of police bosses in our police station,” Dalia* says.

“We had Noor who stayed for about six months, then Wekesa came who stayed for two years, then we had Kimtai, who was on and off and was most times aided by his deputy called Muriuki. We recently got a new OCS, Mwangangi, who joined us in September of this year and has been here for less than a month.”

She notes that Wekesa had stayed the longest until residents from Kivumbini and Flamingo made complaints that made him leave.

“Wekesa has served as the longest-standing OCS, but residents eventually wanted him removed. The situation had deteriorated to a point where when someone was arrested, the OCS wouldn't consider whether they were actually guilty or not - it was all about bribes.”

“Even in cases where the community knows someone is a criminal, they don’t face consequences for their crimes. Instead, they would be released back into the community despite everyone knowing their criminal history,” Dalia explains.

She, however, notes that the community itself is part of the problem.

“You might find cases where someone has been robbed and knows the thief, but when it's time to file a police statement, they don't follow through. They prefer to drop the matter, even though this means the criminal will likely repeat their behaviour.

In other instances, innocent people find themselves arrested. Despite the community's efforts to defend them, they are still required to pay cash bail. Without paying, they cannot secure their release. Many people are afraid of going to court, so they simply pay whatever amount is floated around to get released,” Dalia notes.

She adds that people are also generally fearful of reporting crimes due to possible retaliation from the criminals, she sadly notes.

As the new OCS settles into office, residents remain cautiously hopeful yet concerned about whether this leadership change will bring meaningful reform.

The real test lies ahead - whether this new leadership can address the deep-rooted issues of corruption, restore public trust in law enforcement, and most importantly, break the pattern of brief tenures that has plagued Bondeni Police Station.