A senior police officer was apprehended after he was discovered transporting 20 bags of charcoal along the Nakuru-Mogotio road in Nakuru County.
Chief Inspector of Police Benjamin Wasike, who oversees the Tiaty West Sub County Criminal Investigations Office (SCIO), was pursued for several kilometers before his vehicle was seized in Nakuru Town.
The Toyota Land Cruiser was reported to have been carrying 20 bags of charcoal, according to police.
On December 13, the police officer faced charges for unlawfully using a motor vehicle and for moving charcoal without proper authorization, in violation of the charcoal regulations stated in the Forest Conservation and Management Act 2016 and the charcoal rule of 2009.
The officer was granted bail set at Sh100,000, with the case scheduled for a mention on December 23, 2024.
A team from the Kenya Forest Service Mau region headquarters was on duty along the Nakuru-Mogotio Road when they identified the vehicle.
The team attempted to halt the car, but the driver accelerated towards Nakuru.
This led to a pursuit to Naivasha and then back to Nakuru Town, where reinforcements had been deployed to intervene.
They successfully detained the driver, who was revealed to be a police officer, and disarmed him of a Ceska pistol loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition.
He was taken to Nakuru Police Station for a search and placed in custody, while the vehicle carrying 20 bags of charcoal was held at the station.
Transporting charcoal requires a permit from the Kenya Forest Service.
In a separate incident, a police officer affiliated with the Gesonso police station in Kisii County was arrested for stealing a mobile phone belonging to a colleague at the station.
The complainant reported the theft of her mobile phone on October 25, 2024.
This initiated an investigation that resulted in the police officer’s arrest.
The two officers had been paired for work when the mobile phone went missing.
The suspect had disposed of the mobile phone in a pit latrine approximately 200 meters from the station.
The device was recovered as evidence, and he was subsequently charged with theft.
Police characterized these incidents as isolated and stated they are being managed internally.
