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IG Kanja seeks to unfreeze orders stopping police recruitment
Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja.
Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja wants the High Court to urgently lift conservatory orders halting the planned recruitment of 10,000 police constables, citing a critical shortage of officers and looming security threats ahead of the 2027 elections.
In his court filings, IG Kanja argues that the suspension of recruitment was granted based on “material non-disclosure” by petitioner Eliud Matindi, who challenged the legality of the exercise.
The legal showdown stems from a November 10, 2025 ruling by the High Court that suspended the recruitment process following a petition by Mr Matindi.
IG Kanja now accuses Mr Matindi of concealing crucial information about a recent Employment and Labour Relations Court judgment that affirmed the police chief's constitutional mandate over recruitment matters under Article 245(4)(c) of the Constitution. In that judgment, the court removed the role from the National Police Service Commission (NPSC).
“The petitioner deliberately failed to inform this court that the same dispute was conclusively determined three weeks ago,” reads the IG’s application, warning that the blockade risks paralysing security operations amid rising crime.
The application was filed at the Milimani Constitutional Court under certificate of urgency.
The State warns that Kenya faces a police officers’ deficit after a three-year recruitment freeze, worsened by retirements and resignations.
With the General Election just 21 months away, the IG says halting the planned hiring of 10,000 police constables would leave the country vulnerable.
“Elections demand massive security deployment. Time is required to train the recruited police officers before they are deployed to handle security matters in the country,” Mr Kanja states, noting the rise in security challenges in the country linked to understaffing.
“Stopping or delaying the recruitment will deny the National Police Service ample time to train the police officers and deploy them to handle security of the country,” he adds, warning that prolonged uncertainty could have far-reaching consequences.
Further, Mr Kanja notes that the Court of Appeal is seized of a similar dispute, arising from the Labour Court’s recent verdict against the National Police Service Commission.
The Law Society of Kenya and NPSC have appealed the Labour Relations Court verdict, arguing that it undermines oversight. The case is pending at the Court of Appeal, prompting the IG to label Mr Matindi’s petition sub judice.
Mr Kanja added that the High Court can only wait for the Court of Appeal to pronounce itself on the related case before taking any step in Mr Matindi’s petition, including the grant of conservatory orders.
He believes that the issues raised by Mr Matindi regarding the recruitment of police officers and the NPSC's mandate in relation to police recruitment were determined on merit by the Labour Relations Court, which has the same status as the High Court.
“The Employment and Labour Relations Court held that NPSC not being a national security organ cannot usurp powers of the Inspector-General and purport to recruit officers for the National Police Service when the NPSC does not have the constitutional authority to perform on the said assignment,” reads the court filings.
The disputed conservatory orders were to remain in force until January 22, 2026 when Mr Matindi’s petition is scheduled for mention further directions.
The heart of the petition is that the recruitment of police officers is exclusively reserved for the National Police Service Commission, not the IG, and that Mr Kanja acted unlawfully in advertising the recruitment.
“In the absence of any delegation by NPSC to the IG to carry out such recruitment under Section 10(2), National Police Service Commission Act, only the NPSC has the constitutional and statutory authority to undertake recruitment of police constables into the NPS,” Mr Matindi argues, insisting that the planned recruitment spearheaded by IG Kanja was unconstitutional, null and void.
But Mr Kanja counters that the IG, by dint of Article 245(4)(c) of the Constitution, cannot be directed by any person in respect of employment, assignment, promotion, suspension or dismissal of any member of the police service.
“Consequently, it is indeed the mandate of the IG to employ, assign, promote, suspend and dismiss members of the National Police Service,” he says as the standoff persists.
