The High Court will tomorrow, September 30, 2025, hear an application challenging the role played by the Inspector General of Police (IG) and the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) in the recruitment of police officers.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi directed the petitioner to serve the application upon the IG, the NPSC, and the Attorney General to enable all parties to respond ahead of the hearing.
The petition was filed by Sheria Mtaani, a non-governmental organisation, alongside lawyer Shadrack Wambui.
The applicants are seeking constitutional interpretation on the distinct roles of the IG and the commission.
Through lawyers Danstan Omari and Shadrack Wambui, the petitioners argue that the IG has overstepped his mandate.
“The IG appears to have usurped the powers of the commission. It is only the commission that can advertise and oversee police recruitment, not the IG,” the lawyers submitted.
They further told the court that the IG should not be in charge of the police payroll, which constitutionally falls under the commission.
“It is only the court that can give a clear constitutional distinction and interpretation of the roles played by the IG and the commission,” the petitioners said.
However, Attorney General Dorcas Oduor opposed a petition filed by lobby over the standoff between Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and the NPSC on control of the police payroll.
“The Constitution does not assign payroll management or financial administration to the Commission. The petitioners’ assertion that payroll is a function of the Commission is a misrepresentation of the law,” Oduor told the court.
Through litigation counsel Jackline Kiramana, the Attorney General argued that payroll administration “plainly falls within the protected domain” of the Inspector General as the accounting officer of the National Police Service, under Article 245 of the Constitution.
Oduor maintained that the Commission’s role under Article 246 is limited to recruitment, promotions, transfers, and disciplinary control, but not day-to-day payroll functions.
“Any contrary conclusion would render Article 245(4) and (5) hollow,” she submitted, adding that payroll operations remain part of the Inspector General’s command, subject only to lawful oversight.
The petitioners, represented by lawyer Omari, insist that payroll is more than an accounting function and argue that unilateral control by the IG risks “alteration or deletion of payroll records, undermines due process, and poses a national security threat.”
They are seeking conservatory orders to restrain the IG and the NPS from managing the payroll, pending full determination of the case.
Court documents show the dispute surfaced publicly on August 4, 2025, and was raised before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, which directed the IG to cede payroll management to the Commission.
The Attorney General has asked the court to dismiss the petition, insisting that granting the orders would “upend the constitutional balance between the Inspector General and the Commission, and imperil the Service’s chain of command.”
The police recruitment exercise is scheduled to begin on Friday.
