Police set ground rules ahead of Monday recruitment exercise
The National Police Service (NPS) has set clear guidelines for the recruitment of 10,000 police constables scheduled to take place on Monday, November 17, 2025.
In a statement released on Friday, November 14, 2025, the NPS reminded qualified Kenyans to participate in the exercise, which will run from 8 am to 5 pm at all 427 recruitment centres across the country. The Service described the recruitment as a one-day exercise and encouraged youths to take the opportunity seriously.
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“This is not just a chance to get a job; rather, it is a new dawn for Kenya. The successful young men and women will form a new cohort of officers expected to drive the positive and reformist agenda currently underway in the Service,” the NPS stated.
The Service also issued a stern warning against corruption.
“We wish to state categorically and emphatically that anyone who indulges, or attempts to indulge, in bribery or corruption in any form, whether as a giver or a taker, will face the full force of the law. We ask all Kenyans to continue supporting the National Police Service in its sacred quest for trusted, professional, accountable, and people-centric policing for a safe and secure country,” the statement added.
Court
The recruitment will proceed after the High Court lifted conservatory orders that had previously blocked the exercise. Justice Bahati Mwamuye on Friday lifted the interim orders that were issued on November 10, 2025, following a petition by London-based activist Eliud Matindi.
Matindi had argued in court that the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, did not have constitutional authority to recruit officers into the NPS, noting that recruitment falls under the mandate of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC).
The IG, however, through State Counsel Christopher Marwa, filed a notice of motion seeking the lifting of the conservatory orders. In his application, IG Kanja cited a shortage of police officers due to natural attrition and the absence of recruitment over the past three years.
“Due to the shortage of police officers as a result of the lack of recruitment of police officers for the past three years and natural attrition, there has been a rise in security challenges in the country,” the IG stated. He further noted the need to increase the number of officers ahead of the 2027 general elections, which are expected to present significant security challenges.
Justice Mwamuye granted the IG’s request, staying the conservatory orders and allowing the recruitment to proceed as scheduled on Monday, 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 ruled.
Case management was previously scheduled for November 17, 2025, the same day the recruitment exercise is set to take place.
