Drama as IG, NPSC clash over police hiring powers

President William Ruto presides over police pass out parade at Kiganjo Police Training College on 10 January,2023.At least 2,881 recruits polices constables graduated after a period of nine months of intensive and rigorous training.[FILE/Standard]

The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) has asked the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) to strike out a petition filed by former legislator John Harun Mwau, arguing that it falls outside the court’s jurisdiction

The petition has stalled a nationwide police recruitment exercise. During a heated session before Justice Hellen Wasilwa, NPSC, represented by lawyer Chebet Koech, argued that the matter touches on national security, which lies exclusively under the High Court.

Koech raised a preliminary objection, urging the court to dismiss the case, saying it does not involve an employment dispute but a constitutional interpretation issue.

“The ELRC is not constitutionally empowered to interpret Articles relating to national security organs, including recruitment of uniformed officers,” she said.

Filed on September 30, Mwau’s petition challenges the NPSC’s powers to recruit uniformed police officers, alleging constitutional violations and seeking to nullify sections of both the National Police Service Commission Act and the National Police Service Act.

Mwau argues that recruitment should be handled solely by the National Police Service (NPS), under the Inspector-General (IG). At the centre of the case is the question: Who constitutionally holds the power to recruit, appoint, promote and discipline uniformed officers?

Citing Articles 238, 239 and 245 of the Constitution, Mwau maintains that these powers belong to the NPS, a national security organ headed independently by the IG.

He also wants Legal Notice No 159 of September 19, 2025, which advertised new police recruitment, annulled. Koech, however, dismissed the petition as a mischaracterisation of a constitutional issue as a labour dispute.

“Section 12 of the ELRC Act confines this court’s jurisdiction to employer-employee disputes. The matter before you concerns constitutional interpretation touching on national security,” she told the court.

NPSC maintains that its authority over police human resource management, including recruitment, is anchored in Article 246(3) of the Constitution, enacted as part of post-2007 police reforms. Koech cited the Ransley Task Force and Waki Report, which recommended creating an independent commission to professionalise police recruitment.

“It is a fallacy to suggest that NPSC’s mandate is limited to civilians. The Commission was constitutionally designed to manage HR for the entire police service,” Koech said. She warned that accepting Mwau’s argument would create a “dual employer” scenario where civilian staff report to the NPSC and uniformed officers to the IG, an arrangement she termed untenable.

“Does the Judicial Service Commission hire magistrates while another entity hires clerks? No,” she argued, clarifying that the IG’s operational independence does not extend to HR powers.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), represented by lawyer Bernadette Mutie, supported the NPSC’s position, warning that shifting HR powers to the IG would undermine police reforms.

However, Kanja and the NPS, through lawyers Paul Nyamodi and Martin Gitonga, backed Mwau’s petition, arguing that recruitment of uniformed officers constitutionally belongs to the Service, not the Commission.

“The IG cannot be expected to command officers he did not recruit or vet,” Nyamodi said, insisting that Article 238(2)(d) implicitly vests recruitment authority in the NPS to ensure diversity and representation. Justice Wasilwa set judgment for October 30.