The High Court has temporarily stopped the planned recruitment of 10,000 police constables by the National Police Service (NPS), pending the determination of a petition challenging the legality of the exercise.
Delivering the ruling on Monday, November 10, 2025, Justice Bahati Mwamuye of the Milimani Law Courts issued a conservatory order suspending the recruitment process announced on November 4 by Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja.
“Pending the inter partes hearing and determination of the petitioner’s application, a conservatory order is hereby issued suspending the Notice of Recruitment of Police Constables/Officers issued on November 4, 2025,” ruled Justice Mwamuye.
Also Read
The petition was filed by activist Eliud Matindi, who challenged the constitutionality and procedural integrity of the planned recruitment set to take place on November 17, 2025, across all sub-counties in the country.
The court directed that no recruitment, facilitation, or implementation related to the process should proceed until the case is fully heard and determined.
Justice Mwamuye further ordered the petitioner to serve all respondents and interested parties by November 12, warning that any violation of the orders would attract penal consequences.
This marks the latest twist in the police hiring saga, coming barely two weeks after the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) lacked the constitutional authority to recruit police officers.
On October 30, Justice Hellen Wasilwa clarified that the powers to recruit, train, assign, and dismiss officers rest solely with the National Police Service, paving the way for NPS to take over the process.
Under the suspended recruitment, applicants were required to be Kenyan citizens aged between 18 and 28, possess a KCSE mean grade of D+, and be both physically and medically fit.
Female candidates were also required not to be pregnant during recruitment or training.
The case will be mentioned later this month for further directions.