Officers performing active traffic duties will no longer be permitted to carry guns.
Mirriam Muli, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, announced in a notice sent to all regional police chiefs nationwide on Thursday.
Muli said the decision is due to increased traffic officers mishandling their firearms while on active duty.
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"It has been noted with great concern that officers actively engaged in traffic duties are armed. This has resulted in the misuse of firearms by the officers. From today 30th November 2023, no officer actively on traffic duties will carry a firearm," reads the communiqué.
"Commanders should ensure that this directive is complied with immediately."
The order came just hours after EACC chief Twalib Mbarak urged Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome to disarm all traffic police officers across the country, claiming that some rogue traffic cops are using state-issued firearms to confront EACC detectives when they are caught soliciting bribes on the roads.
This notice comes barely a day after EACC agents detained three traffic police officers for seeking bribes on the Naivasha-Mai Mahiu Road on Thursday.
Corporal James Njeru and Police Constables Dickson Njagi and James Mwai are accused of soliciting Ksh.15,000 from motorists an hour before their arrest, which resulted in the rogue cops firing in the air before being apprehended.
According to the anti-graft bureau, no injuries were reported as a result of the gunshots. While the arrested officers were driven from Naivasha to the EACC Integrity Centre Police Station in Nairobi for processing, the detectives found the expended cartridge.
