Three traffic police officers have been arrested by Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) officials while collecting bribes along Machakos - Nairobi Highway in Machakos County.

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EACC Lower Eastern regional manager, Susan Kinyeki said the trio was nabbed at a road block near Kathome shopping center, few kilometers from Kyumvi junction on Thursday morning.

They were identified as Cpl Alfred Kangali, Cpl Carolyne Siango and police constable Alice Kajuju.

"We had been receiving numerous complaints from members of the public about traffic officers harassing them with a view to extorting money. We undertook surveillance and we established it was true and we managed to arrest the three officers," Kinyeki said.

She addressed the press in Machakos town on Thursday.

The arrests came barely two weeks after some matatu drivers protested to the Machakos Divisional Traffic Headquarters over alleged harassment and extortion by traffic police officers in various routes within the county.

Ms Kinyeki said one of the traffic officers nabbed in the operation had been arrested in 2015 and charges against her dropped after the court ruled that EACC was not rightly constituted.

"Today again, she is our guest and will definitely be charging her and her colleagues in a few days time," Kinyeki added.

She said all corruption money they had collected will be recovered from the officers which the EACC office will forward a report to the director of public prosecutions seeking consent to have the three charged in court.