Fresh bid to halt ongoing police recruitment blocked
A Nairobi High Court has declined to reinstate orders blocking the recruitment of 10,000 police officers that started on Monday, November 17, 2025.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye on Monday, November 17, 2025, rejected a fresh bid by UK-based activist Eliud Matindi to reinstate the orders, claiming that the IG, Douglas Kanja, had no mandate to recruit the police officers.
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Instead, the judge directed the case to be mentioned on December 3, 2025, for fixing the hearing date.
Matindi had renewed his attempt to halt the ongoing recruitment, stating that there exists a binding decision from the Court of Appeal that declared the power to recruit police officers is with the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) rather than the Inspector General of Police.
“I seek to have the orders issued on Friday, November 14, 2025, be reinstated back, blocking the ongoing police recruitment across the country, as it is illegal since there is a binding 2015 decision from the appellant court on who should conduct the exercise. It is the NPSC,” activist Matindi told the court.
However, the IG, through lawyer Paul Nyamodi, said that indeed there exists another matter before the Court of Appeal over the same dispute and urged the court to await the outcome on the same before halting the ongoing process.
Allows NPS inclusion
At the same time, the court allowed the National Police Service (NPS) application seeking to be listed as the fourth respondent and not as an interested party after activist Matindi informed the court that he does not object to the application.
“The court has struck out the NPS as an interested party and allowed it as the fourth respondent; Katiba Institute remains as the only interested party,” Justice Mwamuye ruled.
Further, the petitioner asked the court to grant him leave to amend his petition to include more issues and parties.
“My lord, it is my request I be granted leave to include more issues and parties in my petition. My request is that the pending application and the amended petition, should I be granted leave, be heard and determined soon so the issue is settled,” activist Matindi submitted to court.
Judge Mwamuye granted Matindi leave to amend his petition and directed him to file and serve it by close of business on November 29, 2025.
“The petitioner is granted leave to file and serve an amended petition by November 29, 2025. Case management shall be on December 3, 2025, at 9am before this judge, and it shall be the first matter on the list,” Justice Mwamuye ordered.
Activist Matindi moved to court seeking orders blocking the police recruitment, arguing that the IG has no constitutional powers to recruit police officers into NPS, stating that it is the mandate of the NPSC to carry out recruitment.
“It is the petitioner’s case that the 1st respondent (IG) does not have any constitutional or statutory authority to recruit police constables into NPS. The function has constitutionally been delegated to the 2nd respondent (NPSC),” Matindi states in his application.
The petitioner further asserts that the recruitment exercise announced and planned by IG Kanja on behalf of NPS is unconstitutional, null, and void.
