Petition against police recruitment withdrawn by lobby group Sheria Mtaani.
The High Court has given the go-ahead for the recruitment of 10,000 police officers, following the withdrawal of a petition that sought to stop the exercise.
The petition, filed by lobby group Sheria Mtaani, through lawyers Danstan Omari, Shadrack Wambui, and Cliff Ombeta, had raised constitutional concerns. The group argued that disputes between the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) could undermine the legitimacy of the process.
The petitioners also wanted the court to suspend the nationwide exercise scheduled for October 1, 2025.
The Attorney General, appearing for the State, opposed the petition and stressed that halting the exercise would interfere with the IGP’s constitutional mandate.
Article 245 of the Constitution grants the IGP independent command of the Service, including responsibility for recruitment.
When the matter came up on Tuesday morning, lawyer Danstan Omari informed the court that Sheria Mtaani had decided to drop the case after receiving overwhelming public feedback.
“The petitioner has applied to withdraw the applications dated August 11 and September 9, 2025, in totality,” Omari said.
He explained that the lobby group received over 20,000 calls and messages from youths and parents urging the case to be withdrawn. Many applicants had already travelled to recruitment centres in preparation for Wednesday’s exercise.
Omari added that the decision was also influenced by the country’s urgent need for more police officers, given the approaching 2027 General Election and international deployments that have stretched the Service’s resources.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi allowed the withdrawal of the petition, effectively clearing the way for the recruitment to continue as planned on Wednesday.
The exercise is now set to proceed across the country without legal obstacles.
