Police Recruitment Set to Resume Monday After High Court Lifts Suspension
However, those plans were halted on October 2, 2025, by an earlier court order issued in Petition No. E196 of 2025, Harun Mwau v. Inspector General of Police & Others.
It was expected to take place in 422 centres across the country on November 17, 2025.PHOTO/COURTESY
By Ruth Sang
The national police recruitment exercise, which was earlier in the week faced with uncertainty, will go ahead on Monday after the High Court temporarily lifted the conservatory orders that had suspended it. In the decision delivered on the afternoon of Friday, Justice Bahati Mwamuye reinstated the status quo that existed before the suspension, issued on November 10, 2025.
It sets aside earlier orders that would have hindered the recruitment process, which was put to a halt following a petition filed by activist Eliud Matindi. The ruling relieves the security agencies involved in organizing the national intake from operational confusion brought about by the litigation on who should conduct the exercise.
Justice Mwamuye directed in the order that the 1st Interested Party shall serve its application, together with the proposed orders, to all the parties concerned and file an affidavit of service. This has to be done before the case management conference scheduled for November 17, 2025, where the matter will continue to be addressed.
The suspension earlier in the week followed a petition by Matindi challenging the legitimacy of the recruitment, which was headed by the IG. He claimed that Article 246(3)(a) of the Constitution gave the NPSC the sole prerogative to recruit into the National Police Service and consequently argued that the IG had exceeded his mandate in commencing the process.
Court records reveal that the NPSC had on September 5, 2025, issued a public notice announcing its intention to recruit 10,000 police constables, stating that the exercise fell squarely within its legal and constitutional powers. However, those plans were halted on October 2, 2025, by an earlier court order issued in Petition No. E196 of 2025, Harun Mwau v. Inspector General of Police & Others.
Following the suspension of the NPSC-driven recruitment, the Inspector General announced a fresh countrywide recruitment drive through a November 4, 2025, advertisement. It was expected to take place in 422 centres across the country on November 17, 2025. This move followed a lengthy court battle between NPS and NPSC, where the High Court had finally declared that the power to conduct recruitments rested with the NPS.
On October 30, 2025, however, the High Court revoked the earlier advertisement by the NPSC on grounds that the commission had acted beyond its mandate in that particular instance. Matindi’s latest petition, however, insisted that the IG remained bound by law and could not carry out recruitment without formal delegation from the NPSC, as outlined under Section 10(2) of the National Police Service Commission Act. The court will continue to deliberate on the substantive issues next week, but in the meantime, it has granted the recruitment process a temporary green light to proceed.
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