The police force is said to be one of Kenya's most corrupt institutions

A lawyer representing more than 20 people arrested for being drunk and disorderly led his clients in storming the station in the district of Meru, demanding a refund.

According to the Daily Nation newspaper, the shocked police officers handed over some 8,700 Kenyan shillings ($100) they had taken in bribes from the group.

The Kenyan shilling's value has been considerably eroded by inflation over the years, but 100 shillings buys a bottle of beer in a restaurant.

The reports come at time when the new Kenyan Government, which came to power after elections last December, has promised to stamp down on corruption.

But a Kenyan police spokesman denied that the police had taken or refunded any bribes.

"There was a scramble at the police station as the police refunded money earlier paid by the suspects as standard police bond to make sure they appeared in court.

"Some people mistakenly thought that the police were refunding bribes," the police spokesman said.

Culture of corruption

Corruption has affected all levels of Kenyan life, with many regarding the police force as one of the most corrupt national institutions.

The results of a survey conducted by a corruption watchdog Transparency International indicated that the police were still the main culprits when it comes to demanding bribes.

The new Kenyan Government, headed by President Mwai Kibaki, was elected on an anti-corruption platform.

And since it came into power ordinary Kenyans seem to have become emboldened and are now challenging the culture of bribe-taking, not just in the police force, but in other public and private sector institutions.

The public service mini-buses, popularly known as Matatus, have displayed a rare show of defiance by refusing to bribe traffic policemen.

For a long time, the Matatus, many of them unroadworthy and often overloaded with passengers, were a major source of bribes for the policemen.