Interior and National Administration CS Kipchumba Murkomen is this morning scheduled to hold a meeting between members of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) and senior police officers in a bid to iron out the fallout over the multi-billion police recruitment drive.

Murkomen is also expected to address the apparent tussle between NPSC and the National Police Service (NPS) under Douglas Kanja over control of the human resource functions.

Kanja has maintained that they will not surrender the payroll since the Constitution grants his office independent command over the service and that handing over the payroll would negate this Constitutional function.

Kanja and his team fear that the new guidelines are aimed at stripping him of key recruitment powers and that an online system may not be suitable for a country with internet connectivity issues.

The NPS has insisted that the employment of the members of the service is one of the protected functions of the Inspector General.

“Article 245(2) (b) provides that no person may give directions to the Inspector General in relation to the employment, suspension or dismissal of a member of the Service,” they said.

IG Kanja has said they were not involved in the Draft National Police Service Commission (Recruitment and Appointment) Regulations, 2025.

Currently, the members of the service and the public are submitting their views through written memoranda and in public participation fora in various regions across the country.

Recruitment system

The Commission, on the other hand, has already developed a police recruitment system (PRS) that will serve as a centralised digital platform for online recruitment of police officers which has however been opposed by the uniformed commissioners.

The forums kicked off on Monday across the country and are scheduled to run till Friday amid fears that the new system could be hijacked by the political class to reward their supporters and use as a political tool.

On Monday, Internal Security Principal Secretary Dr Raymond Omollo revealed that the government plans to recruit 10,000 new police officers next month.

Dr Omollo noted that the recruitment drive will adopt a fresh, technology-driven approach aimed at attracting young Kenyans while restoring credibility to a process previously tainted by corruption allegations.

He emphasized the government’s commitment to conducting a fair and transparent recruitment exercise, aligned with international best practices and public expectations.

In preparation, NPSC has launched a series of nationwide public participation forums to gather input on the proposed NPSC (Recruitment and Appointment) Draft Regulations, 2025. These forums aim to give citizens a platform to voice opinions, suggest amendments, and help shape the recruitment framework.

Speaking yesterday at the Mama Grace Onyango Social Centre in Kisumu, NPSC Commissioner Prof Collette Suda reaffirmed the Commission’s resolve to harness modern technology in transforming the recruitment process.

Prof. Suda announced the rollout of a new online recruitment portal designed to minimize human interaction—reducing the risk of errors and curbing opportunities for corruption.

“In past recruitment drives, candidates were reportedly asked to pay bribes ranging from Sh100,000 to Sh200,000 to secure positions. We are determined to eradicate such unethical practices,” she said.

“We want to leverage available technological advancements to ensure the process is free from corruption and manipulation.”

Prof. Suda added that transparency and fairness would guide the process, with a strong emphasis on diversity and regional balance in the recruitment of the 10,000 officers.

Fair considerations

Marginalized communities and individuals with special skills or attributes will be given fair consideration, she said.

Acknowledging that the current recruitment guidelines—last revised in 2015—are outdated, Prof. Suda reiterated NPSC’s intent to overhaul the framework to meet modern needs and restore public confidence.

The 2025 Draft Regulations aim to standardize the recruitment process, uphold meritocracy, and foster trust in the National Police Service.

NPSC says the system is expected to address challenges occasioned by the manual recruitment system which entirely rely on physical applications, in-person assessments and paper¬-based record keeping, the police claim the new system is likely to be abused by the political class during the recruitment.

The NPSC said the manual recruitment system has posed significant challenges among them logistical inefficiencies, data inaccuracies, long processing times and susceptibility to malpractices such as nepotism and corruption.

“These challenges have not only increased administrative costs but also undermined public confidence in the recruitment process,” they said in an earlier interview.

The PRS is expected to streamline every stage of recruitment from application submission, shortlisting, assessment, selection and appointment, ensuring real-time data validation, accountability and efficiency.

Police headquarters has also accused the NPSC CEO Peter Leley of allegedly bulldozing the new political recruitment guidelines despite him not being a commissioner but an employee who cannot conduct any business without the approval of the commission.