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Kanja urges Kenyans to turn up for police recruitment after court ruling
14th November, 2025 07:53 PM
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has said that the exercise of recruiting 10,000 police recruits will now continue after the court lifted the ban that had been imposed following a case filed in court to halt the exercise.
Speaking at Kiamariga police station in Mathira sub-county, Nyeri County, on Friday, November 14, 2025, during an inspection to assess the damage that was caused by a fire outbreak at the police station two days ago, Kanja said the officers will play a pivotal role in bringing transformation in the police service.
” To me, it is not just a new team of police officers but officers who have to come in and assist us and support us in the reform agenda because the police service is under transformation,” the IG said.
Kanja said the exercise will now proceed, adding that the recruits who qualify will greatly contribute to bringing change within the police service.
He urged young people to turn out in large numbers for the exercise, saying that with 21 months remaining before the general election, they will play a major role in maintaining security.
Also watch: Murkomen issues directive ahead of police recruitment.
”I want to encourage the young men and women to troop into their recruitment centres starting from Monday. We will get the best from the republic, and I’m happy because we are not only recruiting young men; they are not only going to get a job, but we are getting a reformist team that is going to push the police service to the next level,” he said.
Court to the rescue
The High Court has lifted the conservatory orders that it had issued on November 10, 2025, barring the recruitment of 10,000 police constables that was scheduled on Monday, November 17, 2025.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye, on Friday, November 14, 2025, lifted the interim orders that he had issued after a London-based activist, Eliud Matindi, moved to court seeking orders blocking the exercise.
Matindi argued that the Inspector General of Police (IG) Douglas Kanja has no constitutional powers to recruit police officers into the National Police Service (NPS), stating that it is the mandate of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) to recruit the officers.
However, the IG, through State Counsel Christopher Marwa, filed a notice of motion seeking to have the conservatory orders barring the recruitment of additional police officers be lifted.
In his application, IG Kanja argued that there has been no recruitment of police officers for the past three years, and as a result of natural attrition, there is a shortage of police officers in the country.
“Due to the shortage of the police officers as a result of lack of recruitment of police officers for the past three years and natural attrition, there has been a rise of security challenges in the country,” IG states in his notice of motion.
Notably, the IG stated that there is also a need to increase the number of police officers, noting the impending general election that is scheduled for August 2027, and elections in the country come with heavy security challenges, which require adequate police officers to manage.
Justice Mwamuye has granted the IG his request by staying the conservatory orders he had issued earlier, giving the green light for him to proceed with the recruitment as earlier scheduled on November 17, 2025, pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
“That pending the inter partes hearing and determination of the IG notice of motion application dated November 13, 2025, the conservatory orders issued on November 10, 2025, in this matter are stayed, and the obtaining status quo ante in place immediately before their issuance shall apply in the interim,” Justice Mwamuye ordered.
