Following the advice given to police officers not to accept bribes, the Head of State House Anti-corruption Unit Edith Nakalema, went on to say that the officers should lead the fight against corruption since they impede the country’s development by making Uganda lose over 10 trillion shillings annually.
Today morning on The Fatboy Show, Fatboy and Olive Najjuma commented on the subject even though they were certain that the advice would fall on deaf ears, given the unbecoming situation that most police officers live in. Fatboy made reference to police officers residing near RX Radio premises, whose kids are always playing half-naked that it's easy to tell that they are living in poor conditions.
“Literally our cops live in ghetto situations and you’re gonna stop them from taking a bribe? That’s like the highlight of their day when they receive that money,” Fatboy said. Olive added that it has been said that public servants take time to receive their salaries, something that prompts them too, to take bribes.
However, Fatboy, regarding himself a law abiding citizen, admitted to having mixed reactions about corruption and the police. “Whereas you may like to follow the law, there are times when you make a small mistake and then the police officer pulls you over and tries to tell you a few things. Eventually he says ‘but you know these things, maybe you just give us a soda.’ And that will be the end of the story,” said Fatboy.
The Presenters further said that the public persuades police officers to take bribes because of how people are quick to offer them to the officers even when the officer hasn’t mentioned money in the confrontation.
“Actually most of the time they haven’t asked for money by the time we offer the bribe. It’s like an unwritten rule that when they stop you, you have to give them money even when they don’t ask,” said Olive.
Moreso, Fatboy argued that this corruption begins with such minor issues and escalates into massive scandals and crimes including murder, rape and defilement yet the offenders are just let go.
Olive, in response, added that because people coerce police officers to take bribes, this has made the institution top the list in corruption, according to data released by the Uganda Bureau Of Statistics where it takes the lead with 63%, followed by tax officers at 48% and the judiciary at 43%.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, Sarah and Lesham every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.