The long-awaited national police recruitment exercise will go ahead as planned on Monday, November 17, after the High Court lifted its earlier suspension of the process on Friday.
The recruitment will go ahead following a ruling by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, who had previously halted the exercise in response to a petition filed by activist Eliud Matindi.
Justice Mwamuye had issued a conservatory order on Monday, November 10, halting the recruitment pending the determination of Matindi’s petition.
Matindi had challenged the recruitment exercise announced by Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja on November 4, arguing that the IG lacked constitutional authority to independently conduct the recruitment.
This development clears the way for prospective recruits to participate in the recruitment exercise as scheduled, unless the National Police Service directs otherwise.
On Thursday, IG Kanja urged the court to intervene urgently, arguing that delaying the exercise posed a serious national security risk and undermined efforts to strengthen staffing ahead of the 2027 elections.
Additionally, Kanja cautioned that any further delay in approving the exercise would leave him without sufficient time to train and deploy the recruits ahead of the elections.
For nearly a month, the recruitment exercise has faced legal setbacks following a series of cases filed in court. In October, the Employment and Labour Relations Court nullified an initial planned police recruitment, ruling that the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) lacked the legal authority to preside over the exercise.
In the ruling delivered on October 30, Justice Hellen Wasilwa held that recruitment, training, and delegation of duties to police officers fall squarely under the mandate of the NPS, a decision that gave Inspector General Douglas Kanja the green light to announce fresh recruitment dates.
Even so, if the recruitment proceeds as initially scheduled, it would give both the country and the Inspector General a significant boost in efforts to beef up police numbers ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The service has been unable to recruit for several cycles due to budget constraints, leaving staffing levels below the required threshold.
Meanwhile, according to NPS, applicants in the upcoming recruitment will be required to meet several minimum requirements, including being Kenyan citizens aged between 18 and 28 years, holding a valid national ID, and having at least a D+ in KCSE with a minimum D+ in either English or Kiswahili.
Candidates are also required to be physically and medically fit, with a minimum height of 5ft 8in for males and 5ft 3in for females. Female applicants must not be pregnant during recruitment or training.
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