Court Halts Police Recruitment Drive in Fresh Blow to IG Douglas Kanja

The Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, has suffered another legal setback after the High Court issued temporary orders halting the planned recruitment of police constables scheduled for November 17, 2025

Justice Bahati Mwamuye granted the orders following a petition filed by activist Eliud Matindi, who challenged the legality of the recruitment exercise initiated by the Inspector General’s office

“Pending the inter partes hearing and determination of the Petitioner/Applicant’s Notice of Motion Application dated 06/11/2025, a conservatory order be and is hereby issued suspending the Notice of Recruitment of Police Constables/Officers issued on 04/11/2025 by the 1st Respondent,” the court order read in part

Matindi argued that, according to Article 246(3)(a) of the Constitution, the National Police Service Commission (NPSC)  not the Inspector General is the body legally mandated to recruit police officers

Court documents show that on September 5, 2025, the NPSC announced plans to recruit 10,000 police constables. However, the exercise was suspended on October 2, 2025, after a separate court case (Harun Mwau v. Inspector General of Police & Others)

Despite that, the Inspector General later advertised a fresh recruitment drive on November 4, 2025, to be conducted across 422 centres countrywide

This came in the wake of a protracted legal battle between the NPSC and the National Police Service (NPS) over recruitment powers. On October 30, 2025, the High Court had declared an earlier NPSC advertisement unconstitutional, ruling that the recruitment mandate lies with the NPS

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In his latest petition, however, Matindi maintained that the IG’s actions were unconstitutional, noting that the IG has no authority to conduct recruitment without express delegation from the NPSC, as required under Section 10(2) of the National Police Service Commission Act

Justice Mwamuye, in granting the conservatory orders, stated that the petition raises “substantial constitutional and public interest issues” that must be resolved before the recruitment proceeds

The case is expected to be heard in coming weeks as the standoff between the police service and the commission continues to stall recruitment efforts

Writer : Mweru Mbugua