Court Blocks Police Recruitment as NPS Suspends Exercise Indefinitely
The National Police Service (NPS) has put on hold its national recruitment exercise following a court order.
In a statement issued yesterday, NPS said the mass recruitment which was to start on Friday October 3 has been postponed until further notice.
The suspension comes after the Employment and Labour Relations Court granted interim conservatory orders stopping the exercise. The orders were issued on October 2 after former legislator Harun Mwau filed a petition against the Inspector General of Police, National Police Service Commission (NPSC) and two other respondents.
Justice Hellen Wasilwa directed the respondents to file their responses within seven days. The petitioner has also been given a similar timeline to submit further affidavits and written arguments.
NPS did not give a new date for the recruitment but assured the public that they are working to resolve the matter legally.
“The National Police Service in conjunction with the National Police Service Commission is working on legal remedies to enable the recruitment to resume as soon as possible,” part of the NPS statement read.
The exercise which was to run from October 3 to October 9 across all counties was to recruit 10,000 police constables.
Just a day before the court’s decision, NPS and NPSC had held a joint briefing at the National Police College Embakasi ‘A’ Campus. During the briefing, Inspector General Japhet Koome said the service was committed to a transparent and credible recruitment process.
The suspension now throws a spanner in the works of the exercise which was to boost the country’s police service capacity.
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Court Blocks Police Recruitment as NPS Suspends Exercise Indefinitely