NPS announces fresh recruitment of police constables after court ruling
In an advert published on Friday, applicants must complete a prescribed form, available for download from the police and MyGov websites, or obtainable from Huduma centres.
The National Police Service (NPS) has announced a new recruitment exercise for police constables, set to begin on November 17 across the country.
The announcement comes a day after the National Police Service (NPS) won a legal battle against the National Police Service Commission (NPSC).
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In an advert published on Friday, applicants must complete a prescribed form, available for download from the police and MyGov website or obtainable from Huduma centres.
They are required to present the filled form at designated recruitment centres, along with academic certificates, national ID, and birth certificate, when the exercise begins in two weeks at 8:00 am.
"Applicants shall be required to meet the following minimu, requirements; be a citizen of Kenya, hold a Kenyan national identity card, aged 18-28 years, Minimum KCSE Grade D+ (with minimum of D+ in English or Kiswahili), be physically and medically fit, minimum height male 5ft 8 in, female 5 ft 3 in, have no criminal record or pending criminal charges, female candidates must not be pregnant at recruitment and during the entire training period," said NPS.
On Thursday, the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that the Commission lacks the authority to recruit, train, employ, assign, promote, suspend, or dismiss officers serving within the NPS.
The court found that the NPSC is not a national security organ as defined under Article 239(1) of the Constitution, rendering its recent recruitment exercise unconstitutional. Recruitment functions, the ruling stated, are reserved for the NPS.
"A declaration is hereby issued that the recruitment by national security organs under Article 232(d) of the Constitution can only be done by the national security organ itself, and not by any other entity outside it," ruled Justice Hellen Wasilwa.
Consequently, the court declared that any recruitment process advertised or initiated by the NPSC Chairperson, Peter Lelei, is null and void for violating the Constitution.
Additionally, the court declared Legal Notice No. 159 of September 19, 2025, unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction restraining the NPSC from undertaking any recruitment, training, assignment, suspension, or dismissal of police officers.
"A permanent order is hereby issued restraining the commission from proceeding with the recruitment or any related activities, including the advertisement published in the Daily Nation and the legal notice," the judge ruled.
The ruling immediately halted the police recruitment drive for 10,000 police officers that had been scheduled to take place from October 3 to October 9, 2025.
The Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, has maintained that the recruitment exercise is urgently needed at a time when the National Police Service is grappling with attrition and declining personnel numbers.
"This initiative could not have come at a more critical time. With natural attrition and other factors affecting the Service's capacity, the recruitment of 10,000 new constables is both timely and necessary," he said.
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