Fresh row between IG Kanja, NPSC stalls enlistment of 10,000 officers

From left: NPSC Chair Amani Yuda, Police IG Douglas Kanja, DIG Eliud Lagat, DCI Director Mohamed Amin before the National Assembly CIOC Committee at Mini Chambers, Nairobi, September 16, 2025. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] The government's plan to recruit 10,000 police officers in October has been thrown into confusion following an escalating standoff between the National Police Service (NPS) and the National Police Service Commission (NPSC). The fallout, which exposes deeper cracks within the law enforcement system, pits Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja against the civilian-led NPSC. At the centre of the dispute is a move by the NPSC to gazette new regulations to guide police recruitment and appointments. The National Police Service Commission (Recruitment and Appointments) Regulations 2025, which were forwarded to the Government Printer this week, hand the commission sweeping powers to conduct the recruitment through an online system. The decision directly contradicts an earlier consensus to suspend the online-only model, which had been criticized by MPs and senior police officers, as impractical, especially in remote areas without internet. The regulations were gazetted barely a day after the National Assembly Committee on Delegated Legislation, chaired by Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga, rejected the draft and ordered the NPSC to revise contentious sections. The committee faulted the use of poverty index and marginalisation levels as recruitment criteria, stating that such measures could compromise fairness and objectivity. Chepkonga's team demanded that the NPSC clarify how recruitment slots would be equitably distributed among constituencies and ensure that the implementation was transparent and accountable. Other parliamentary committees, including the Administration and National Security Committee led by Gabriel Tongoyo, and the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee chaired by Peter Njoroge Baiya, also cautioned the commission against unilateral action. Collectively, MPs urged the NPSC to abandon the online-only model and instead adopt an inclusive framework that upholds merit and equal opportunity. Inspector General Kanja, speaking on phone from Garissa during the Jukwaa La Usalama forum yesterday, dismissed the gazetted regulations as illegal and accused the commission of acting in bad faith. "It is wrong to gazette the regulations without going through the mandatory process, including approval by Parliament and public participation," Kanja said. Should the regulations take effect, the IG would be compelled to cede control of Sh2.9 billion already disbursed to NPS accounts for the recruitment to the commission. NPSC Chief Executive Peter Leley declined to be drawn into the row, only saying that everyone had been involved in the formulation of the regulations. The bitter exchange comes only days after a high-level meeting chaired by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei appeared to restore calm. The meeting, attended by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, senior police commanders, and the NPSC leadership, had resolved that the contentious online recruitment model be suspended pending consultations. It was further agreed that a 15-member technical committee co-chaired by the NPS and NPSC would harmonize the regulations and pave the way for a recruitment exercise scheduled for October 3-9, 2025. But on Wednesday evening, NPS representatives stormed out of a committee meeting after discovering that the regulations had already been sent to the Government Printer for gazettement.

Fresh row between IG Kanja, NPSC stalls enlistment of 10,000 officers

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Fresh row between IG Kanja, NPSC stalls enlistment of 10,000 officers

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