Tanzania grapples with rising systematic theft as traffic police officers face allegations

At least ten officers from regions including Iringa, Coast, and Kilimanjaro are under scrutiny for diverting government funds by establishing their own system, according to information obtained by Mwananchi.

Despite calls for investigation, Police Spokesperson David Misime has yet to confirm any reports, raising concerns about the scale of the problem.

According to information obtained by Mwananchi, these officers diverted funds intended for the government system by establishing their own system to siphon these funds.

Contacted for comment, Police Spokesperson David Misime stated that he had not yet received any reports and promised to investigate to ascertain the truth.

"I am hearing such reports from you; let me follow up to see if there are any reports of this nature," he responded.

President Hassan and systemic theft

Systemic theft was previously discussed on August 17, 2023, by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who mentioned that some councils in Mbeya have established a system separate from the government's to collect funds.

Read: Samia orders an investigation into Tanzania's police force

"I was recently in Mbeya during the Nanenane event and found out that officials from the council had set up their network apart from the one used by the government to collect funds. In reality, there is another system alongside it, and it has collected a significant amount of money," she said.

"After they succeeded, they shared it with their neighbours. I was waiting for a report from Tamisemi, but it hasn't come yet, and I know it, and I'm still following up on my own, so when that report comes, it should come unadulterated," she said.

In addition to President Hassan, system theft was raised by the Chairman of the Association of Tourism Agents in Arusha, Mr Wilbard Chambulo.

Read: Samia: The kind of police force I would like to see in Tanzania

During a meeting with the newly appointed Regional Commissioner of Arusha, Mr Paul Makonda, and tourism stakeholders, Mr Chambulo raised allegations against the Arusha City Council of providing him with a payment form with different information from that of his company.

He also claimed to have been charged a tax of Sh24 million, but the receipt he was given showed that he had paid Sh3.6 million.

Allegations against traffic police

In this theft, it is alleged that the officers use their personal Point of Sale (POS) machines, and the money they collect does not go directly to the government but into their pockets.

According to computer systems experts, this theft is carried out by tampering with the government's payment system, facilitated by security vulnerabilities in the system. Several sources within those regions and within the Police Force have informed Mwananchi that in Iringa, seven traffic officers are allegedly being dismissed within two weeks, while in Coast and Kilimanjaro, they are facing military charges.

"Iringa was the worst because the chain of events is alleged to involve a senior officer. His procedures are a bit different, but he is also under investigation," one source revealed.

Information reaching this newspaper indicates that those dismissed in Iringa are accused of corruption and diverting government funds derived from road safety offenses for personal gain, which then go into their pockets.

"We are told that two officers were found to have their POS machine, so when they collect money, it doesn't go to the government. The government should investigate the use of these machines. Something is not right," the source claimed.

A Senior Police Officer (SSP) said after questioning these officers, they implicated their boss in the scheme of personal income.

"The other day we had a meeting with the officers, and we were told that your colleagues in Iringa have been dismissed for tampering with government revenue. The same is happening in Coast, where officers are facing charges," the officer claimed.

"I'm not sure if their charges have been completed, but there were charges pending in Coast, similar to those in Iringa. It seems there is foul play among some traffic officers," the officer said.

Reports from Kilimanjaro region claim that four traffic officers from Mwanga District have been charged with military offenses for allegedly going against the good conduct of the force, which emphasizes integrity.

 The reports claim that two or three weeks ago, these officers were called to the Regional Police Commander Simon Maigwa’s office and questioned for allegedly owning a personal chip they inserted into the cameras used to detect vehicle speeds.

"It is true that this happened because they were questioned a lot here in the region, and we saw them removed from traffic duty and became ordinary officers, but now we are told they have been charged with military offences, and they are still facing them," the source said.

According to the source, these officers have been involved in this for two years. They take photos of speeding cars in unauthorized areas, negotiate with drivers, and collect money.

"It seems they have been doing this for a long time. They insert their chip, take photos, after collecting 'rice' (money), they delete the photos, and remove the chip as if the cars were not caught when it is their project," said the officer.

This embezzlement is said to have been discovered when the Controller and Auditor General's report for the year 2020/2021 revealed that 89 POS machines used by traffic officers to collect fines had never recorded any transactions.

In the report, the CAG found these POS machines, which were registered and were in the TMS system but had never recorded any transactions in the system. These POS machines were registered between July 2019 and February 2021.

How the theft is carried out

A computer systems expert at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Dr Fatuma Simba, said this type of theft is possible by tampering with the system.

She explained that in online payments, there is a system that allows money to be sent to the intended recipient, and if it is not well protected, it can be tampered with, and money can be diverted.

"In any case, those people have tampered with the system; if you tamper with it, it allows you to transfer money as you wish," she explained.

To control this, according to Dr Simba, strong protection of the system is required to prevent hackers from interfering.

"Every system must have security; this will prevent those with malicious intent from interfering and eventually embezzling. It is possible to do so," she said.

Another expert from UDSM, Dr Jimmy Mbelwa, explained that it is difficult to tamper with the system, especially one that involves payment methods. He explained that any system has an administrator who usually runs it, and beyond that, no one can do anything.

 Dr Mbelwa explained that if it appears that the system, especially the payment one, has been tampered with in any way, there is someone within the system who is involved.

 "I don't believe anyone can tamper with the system because it has management. The possibility of tampering with the system, especially the payment one, occurs when someone among the supervisors is involved," he explained.

Dr Mbelwa recommended examining the loopholes in these systems to seal them off to control the possibility of tampering.