The Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) has nullified the recruitment of 10,000 police officers advertised by the National Police Service Commission (NPSC), declaring the process unconstitutional.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, October 30, Justice Hellen Wasilwa ruled that NPSC has no power to recruit, train, employ, assign, promote, suspend, or dismiss members of the National Police Service (NPS).
Justice Wasilwa noted that the NPSC is not a security organ and therefore lacks the legal mandate to perform recruitment functions reserved for the NPS.
She also pointed out that the NPSC’s functions cannot override or usurp the roles 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 ruled.
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The court also issued a permanent injunction restraining the NPSC from conducting any recruitment or related human resource processes.
Further, ELRC directed the National Police Service Act and the National Police Service Commission Act to be reviewed to align them with the Constitution.
The ruling comes days after the ERLC suspended the nationwide police recruitment drive following a petition filed by former Member of Parliament Harun Mwau.
In the petition, Mwau argued that the Constitution vests independent command of NPS and provides that no person may give direction to the Police IG regarding the employment, assignment, promotion, suspension, or even the dismissal of any member of the service.
NPSC had advertised a recruitment drive to enlist 10,000 new police constables across the country from October 3 to October 9.
However, the recruitment exercise was postponed on Thursday, October 2, following ELRC’s directive.
"In accordance with the Order of the Employment and Labour Relations Court, issued on 2nd October 2025 in Petition No. E196 of 2025 (Harun Mwau v. Inspector General of Police, the National Police Service Commission & 2 Others), the police recruitment exercise scheduled to commence on 3rd October 2025 has been postponed until further notice," NPS announced.
