T he Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) led by the Board, on 17th, November 2025 mobilized its teams across the country to monitor the National Police Service’s (NPS) recruitment exercise held in the ga-zetted recruitment centres.
The Authority is mandated under Section 6(c) of IPOA Act, to inde-pendently monitor policing opera-tions affecting members of the pub-lic to ensure compliance with rule of law and policing practices. The aim of monitoring is to ensure compli-ance by police officers to policing laws, regulations, procedures, standing orders and code of con-duct, as well as ensure fairness, transparency and adherence to the law.
Through its Inspections, Monitoring and Preventive Services Directorate(IMPS), IPOA deploys monitors to designated recruitment centres to observe all phases of the recruit-ment, registration, physical assess-ment, medical testing, candidate vetting and final selection. This is done to assess professionalism, and to gather data that will inform a comprehensive report highlighting best practices, areas of concern, and recommendations aimed at strengthening professionalism in future recruitment exercises.
Last year’s recruitment came in the wake of a landmark court ruling. On October 30th 2025, the Employment and Labour Relations Court held that the National Police Service Commis-sion (NPSC) does not have constitu-tional powers to recruit, train, em-ploy, assign, or dismiss NPS members.
Justice Hellen Wasilwa declared null and void, the Legal Notice No. 159 of September 19, 2025, under which the NPSC had advertised a 10,000-officer recruitment. The ruling reaf-firmed that recruitment authority lies with the NPS, under the independ-ent command of the Inspector Gen-eral as per Article 245 of the Consti-tution.
The High Court had, earlier that month, temporarily suspended the recruitment exercise following a pe-tition. However, a later court order lifted that suspension, allowing the recruitment to proceed pending fur-ther hearing. Against this backdrop, IPOA’s presence was especially vital. The Authority’s monitoring is rooted in its constitutional mandate to “monitor, review, audit, and make recommendations on the conduct and operations of the Service.”
In past recruitment cycles, IPOA documented serious concerns, in-cluding ethnic discrimination, physi-cal-attribute bias, and inconsistent procedures across centres. Lessons from those past exercises guided the Authority’s approach, which involved watching closely for equitable treat-ment of all applicants, non-discrimination, adherence to merit, and procedural uniformity.
The monitoring report provides con-crete findings, highlighting areas of concern.
The report also makes clear, actionable recommendations to the NPS leadership, with the key aim of strengthening future recruit-ment exercises. By actively monitor-ing recruitment exercises, the Au-thority hopes to help build a strong-er, more accountable, and more rep-resentative police Service, one whose legitimacy is rooted in fair-ness, transparency, and respect for the Constitution.