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Court upholds decision to nullify police recruitment


The fate of more than 8,000 young people who qualified and received letters to join the police was sealed on Friday after the Court of Appeal upheld a decision to nullify their recruitment.

Appellate judges John Mwera, Wanjiru Karanja and William Ouko reaffirmed a High Court ruling that the July 2014 police recruitment was riddled with corruption, among other irregularities, and violated the Constitution.

“As much as we sympathise with the young people who genuinely passed the test and whose dreams of joining the police were shattered, we cannot allow them to be beneficiaries of a sham recruitment, where up to Sh200,000 was paid in exchange for the offer letter,” ruled the judges.

The decision, read by Justice Jamila Mohammed, means the 8,749 young people who were part of the 10,000 police recruits last year have to wait for another chance to try their luck.

DUBIOUS PROCESS

The recruitment of an additional 1,251 from 36 centres had earlier been cancelled by the Police Service Commission (NPSC) over irregularities.

The judges said the entire hiring was embarrassing and wondered why the NPSC allowed “strangers” with no authority and expertise to decide who qualified.

“Our hearts go out to the young people who are casualties of a dubious process. But we want to tell the institutions that they must try, and keep trying until they get it right. Otherwise we will be betraying the spirit of those who passed the Constitution,” the judges said.

According to the appellate judges, the irregularities first occurred when the Inspector- General of Police delegated the recruiting powers to sub-county committees without authority.

The Bench dismissed the Attorney-General’s appeal against the judgment by Justice Isaac Lenaola, saying the High Court judge was right in every finding he made to order a repeat recruitment.