Employment and Labour Relations Court, on Thursday, June 22, suspended the promotion of 514 police officers, including Nairobi Regional Commander Adamson Bungei.
Justice Byrum Ongayo ruled that the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome overstepped the National Police Service Commission's (NPSC) mandate.
IG Koome was further accused of basing the promotions on political connections rather than merit.
The court's ruling is a major setback for the IG, who had argued that he had the authority to promote the officers contrary to the law, which grants the NPSC the power to hire.
Inspector General of Police (IG) Japhet Koome promoted 514 senior police officers on Monday, June 13, 2023, in a memo to all stations.
The promoted officers included 163 superintendents, 214 assistant superintendents, 127 inspectors, and 110 sergeants. According to Koome, the promotions were made in recognition of the officers' long and meritorious service to the police service.
Among those promoted were National Police Service Spokesperson Resila Onyango, and Nairobi Regional Commander Adamson Bungei, who rose to Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIP).
General Service Unit Commandant Eliud Lagat and Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) Director David Birech were promoted to Senior Assistant Inspector General of Police (S/AIG).
However, On Tuesday, June 13, the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) opposed the promotions, arguing that they were illegal as the officers were not interviewed for the new positions.
NPSC added that the positions were not advertised beforehand, as required by the law. It thus ordered the IG to revoke the promotions and reinstate the officers to their previous positions.
Interior CS, Kithure Kindiki, further advised IG Koome and NPSC to handle their wrangling amicably.
"I made it clear that the two institutions were violating the Constitution. I warned the IG and the commissioners that their conduct can give a basis for removal from office through a tribunal.
"There is no great erosion of public confidence than the exchange of words between the two institutions concerning recruitment," Kindiki stated while appearing before the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security on Tuesday, June 20.
