The High Court has issued fresh interim directions that temporarily alter the earlier suspension of the planned nationwide police recruitment, restoring the status quo as of November 10, 2025.
In the first directive, Justice Bahati Mwamuye stayed the conservatory orders issued on November 10, 2025, which had halted the police recruitment announced for November 17.
This comes days after an activist, Eliud Matindi, launched a legal challenge to the exercise.
“Pending the inter partes hearing and determination of the 1st Interested Party/Applicant's Notice of Motion Application dated 13/11/2025, the conservatory orders issued on 10/11/2025 in this matter are stayed, and the obtaining status quo ante in place immediately before their issuance shall apply in the interim,” the judge ruled.
By staying those orders, the judge clarified that the conservatory suspension is paused only temporarily and only to allow an application by one of the parties to be heard fairly.
The recruitment exercise in question was announced by Inspector-General Douglas Kanja on November 4, 2025.
This was after an earlier ruling, where the court declared that the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) has no power to recruit, train, employ, assign, promote, suspend, or dismiss members of the National Police Service (NPS).
The court said such functions fall exclusively under the independent command of the Inspector General (IG) as provided in Article 245 of the Constitution.
A permanent injunction was also issued restraining the NPSC from conducting any recruitment or related human resource processes, including the implementation of the recruitment advertisement published on September 19, 2025, through Legal Notice No. 159, which the court found unconstitutional, null, and void.
In her judgment, Justice Helen Wasilwa of the Environment and Land Court on Thursday, October 30, 2025, said the Constitution clearly demarcates the roles of the Inspector General and the National Police Service Commission, and that any overlap would interfere with the IG’s independent command over the Service.
She observed that the NPSC, while exercising oversight and administrative functions, cannot usurp the operational powers constitutionally reserved for the Inspector General.
“The Commission is not a national security organ under Article 239(1) of the Constitution. Its role is limited to policy, oversight, and disciplinary control—not recruitment or deployment,” Justice Wasilwa said.
The court ruled that allowing the Commission to handle matters of recruitment and deployment would compromise the operational independence of the police, which the Constitution safeguards to ensure professionalism and accountability within the security sector.
Matindi contends that the move by the Inspector-General was unauthorised and therefore unlawful.
