NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 19- Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja has approved the promotion of 1,948 police officers whose career advancement had stalled, following a Court of Appeal decision that affirmed his authority over the management of uniformed officers.
The promotions, announced by the National Police Service (NPS) on Monday, October 19, follow the dismissal of appeals by the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) challenging a judgment that limited the commission’s powers over sworn police officers.
The three-judge bench comprising Justices Patrick Kiage, Jamila Mohammed and Jessie Lesiit dismissed the consolidated appeals, upholding an earlier decision by the Employment and Labour Relations Court that placed the management of uniformed officers under the National Police Service and the Inspector-General’s independent command.
“Ultimately, we find the consolidated appeal before us to be without merit and they are accordingly dismissed in entirety,” the judges ruled.
In a key finding, the judges held that the Constitution protects the Inspector-General’s independent command over the Service, including decisions concerning the employment, assignment, promotion, suspension and dismissal of uniformed officers.
“It is provided explicitly enough that the Inspector General exercises independent command over the Service, and no person, not even the Cabinet Secretary, and thus less still the Commission, may give him a direction with respect to ‘the employment, assignment, promotion suspension or dismissal of any member of the National Police Service’,” the judges said.
The ruling followed a protracted legal dispute over the constitutional division of responsibilities between the Inspector-General and the NPSC, particularly over who has the authority to recruit and manage police officers.
The dispute began after the commission advertised vacancies for police constables on September 19, 2025, and published regulations setting out how the recruitment exercise would be conducted.
Former legislator John Harun Mwau challenged the commission’s actions in court. On October 30, 2025, Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Hellen Wasilwa ruled that the commission lacked constitutional authority over the recruitment and management of uniformed members of the National Police Service.
The judge declared the commission’s recruitment regulations unconstitutional and barred it from recruiting, training, employing, assigning, promoting, suspending or dismissing members of the Service.
The NPSC and LSK challenged the decision, arguing that the commission’s constitutional mandate extended to recruitment and appointment within the police service. However, the Court of Appeal rejected their appeals, leaving the earlier judgment intact.
The judges distinguished uniformed officers from civilian employees who perform administrative, technical, accounting, information technology, medical and legal support functions within the Service. The commission retains its role in managing civilian personnel, while the Inspector-General exercises independent command over sworn officers.
Welcoming the outcome, Kanja said the court had affirmed the constitutional framework governing the National Police Service.
“The constitutional order has been vindicated,” he said, according to the Daily Nation.
He also indicated that officers whose promotions had stalled, particularly those who had completed the required promotional courses, would be promoted without further delay.
In its announcement on Monday, the NPS confirmed that 1,948 officers had been approved for promotion after completing the requisite courses and meeting the prescribed conditions for advancement.
The Service did not specify the individual ranks affected but said the promotions would take effect accordingly.
Kanja congratulated the officers and urged them to maintain professionalism, integrity and diligence in their new ranks.
He emphasised that promotion brought greater responsibility, calling on the officers to discharge their duties fairly and accountably while respecting the rule of law.
The NPS said the promotions were expected to improve operational efficiency and service delivery as it pursues reforms aimed at building a professional, responsive and accountable police service.
The ruling clears a major legal hurdle in the dispute that had disrupted the advancement of officers awaiting promotion.