Kenya’s police sector has been thrown into unprecedented turmoil after the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) urged the Court of Appeal to scrap the recruitment of 10,000 police constables, arguing the entire exercise was illegally conducted under the authority of the Inspector-General of Police.
According to the NPSC, the chaos began when the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) declared several sections of the National Police Service Act unconstitutional for interfering with the independent command of Inspector-General Douglas Kanja.
But the Commission says the court went far beyond constitutional housekeeping.
The ELRC’s ruling nullified the NPSC’s Recruitment and Appointment Regulations, leaving the country with:
No guiding framework,
No structured criteria,
No lawful guardrails governing the delicate and consequential function of recruiting new officers.
The NPSC described the fallout as a “system operating without its compass.”
In its urgent appeal, the NPSC argues that the ELRC ruling created a legal vacuum — one that should have halted any recruitment activity.
Instead, the Labour Court’s decision was interpreted as giving Inspector-General Douglas Kanja the green light to conduct the police recruitment in November.
The NPSC disputes this emphatically.
They argue that recruitment is not — and has never been — within the IG’s constitutional mandate, insisting that:
The IG commands the service operationally,
But the NPSC exclusively holds the powers to recruit, appoint, promote, and set qualifications for police officers.
By allowing the IG to spearhead the hiring of 10,000 constables, the Commission says the Labour Court effectively rewrote the Constitution, putting operational command and human-resource authority in the same office — a move they warn is dangerous and unlawful.
The Commission now wants the Court of Appeal to intervene urgently and nullify the entire recruitment exercise, arguing that:
1. It was carried out without valid regulations,
2. It was guided by no lawful criteria,
3. It was led by an official who lacks legal authority to recruit,
4. And it sets a precedent that could compromise the independence and professionalism of the police service.
If the Court of Appeal agrees with the NPSC, the decision could send 10,000 hopeful recruits back home, igniting political, economic, and security shockwaves.
Critics warn of crippling manpower shortages and operational gaps.
Supporters argue that no recruitment — however big — should proceed outside constitutional boundaries.
For now, the future of Kenya’s newest cohort of police officers hangs in the balance, and the country awaits a ruling that could redefine the power balance at the top of the National Police Service.
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