NAIROBI, Kenya – The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision barring the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) from recruiting uniformed police officers, affirming that the responsibility falls under the National Police Service and the independent command of the Inspector-General.
In a judgment delivered on October 16, 2026, a three-judge bench dismissed appeals filed by the commission and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) challenging an earlier ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
The appellate court upheld Justice Wasilwa’s decision declaring unconstitutional the NPSC recruitment regulations issued in 2025 and permanently restraining the commission from recruiting, training and undertaking specified personnel functions relating to members of the National Police Service.
The dispute followed the commission’s advertisement of police constable vacancies in September 2025, prompting lawyer John Harun Mwau to challenge its authority in court.
Mwau argued that the Constitution did not empower the NPSC to recruit uniformed police officers.
Court Interprets Constitutional Roles
The commission and the LSK argued that Article 246 of the Constitution gives the NPSC broad human-resource management powers over the National Police Service, including the recruitment of uniformed officers.
They also maintained that the Inspector-General’s independent command under Article 245 primarily relates to operational matters.
However, the Court of Appeal said the Constitution distinguishes between uniformed police officers and civilian personnel working within the Service, assigning different responsibilities to the commission and the Inspector-General.
“Having immersed ourselves in the text of the Constitution in so far as it relates to the dispute at bar, we see no ambiguity therein,” Justices Patrick Kiage, Jamila Mohammed and Jessit Lesiit stated.
The judges held that the commission’s mandate under Article 246(3) to recruit, appoint, promote and transfer people holding or acting in offices within the Service applies to civilian personnel rather than uniformed police officers.
The recruitment and training of uniformed officers, the court found, fall within the responsibilities of the National Police Service, under the Inspector-General’s independent command.
Judges Reject Accountability Concerns
The appellate judges also rejected arguments that restricting the commission’s role would undermine accountability or revive past abuses associated with police recruitment and management.
“We do not accept the notion propounded by the appellants that to confine the commission within the sphere delineated by the constitution itself is a throwback to the old dark days of unaccountability, impunity and political suppression by a weaponised police,” the judges said.
They noted that the Inspector-General remains bound by the Constitution, including provisions requiring respect for human rights and the rule of law.
The court’s position was that constitutional limits on the commission’s powers do not remove the National Police Service’s obligation to operate within the law.
2025 Recruitment Regulations Declared Unconstitutional
The ruling leaves in place the lower court’s declaration that the NPSC recruitment regulations contained in Legal Notice No. 159 of 2025 were unconstitutional.
The decision clarifies the distinction, as interpreted by the courts, between the commission’s human-resource responsibilities for civilian staff and the National Police Service’s role in recruiting and training uniformed officers.
It also marks the latest judicial determination in the dispute over the constitutional division of responsibilities between the NPSC and the Inspector-General.
