Recruitment dilemma for police ahead of court ruling
What you need to know:
- Possibility of double recruitment should 2014 recruits get favourable decision.
- April 20 exercise "not a repeat" of 2014 recruitment, says commissioner.
The National Police Service Commission has warned of the possibility of double recruitment should a court rule in favour of those challenging the nullification of last year's exercise.
The Commission has said the recruitment scheduled for Monday was not a repeat of the botched 2014 process but a fresh bit to increase the ratio of police officers to civilians.
Commissioner Ronald Musengi told the Nation on Saturday that the 10,000 recruits whose admission to the service is pending will know their fate on May 8 when the Court of Appeal delivers its decision.
However, he said the recruits are welcome to take part in the 2015 exercise as had been promised by Inspector-General Joseph Boinnet.
"The April 20 exercise is not a result of the cancellation of last year's recruitment but based on the need to increase the work force," Mr Musengi said in a telephone interview.
"Our ratio of police to citizens is one to 900, whereas the United Nations recommends a one to 450 ratio. We are halfway below the requirement and we want to bridge that gap."
DECLINED TO STOP
The High Court on Friday declined to stop Monday's recruitment exercise. An application filed by over 100 who were recruited in the previous exercise challenged the NPSC's decision to hold fresh recruitment.
Mr Musengi further said stringent measures were in place to prevent corruption, allegations of which tarnished the 2014 exercise.
"We have made changes to ensure that the process is watertight. One of them is that the District Recruitment Committee will now be chaired by a senior police officer and not a District Commissioner as it was before," he said.
Mr Musengi also said the process would strictly stick to the set timelines, beginning at 8am and ending at 5pm, to prevent manipulation at night.
"We received complaints that the medical stage which ran its tests till night was prone to manipulation that saw some candidates dismissed unfairly. This time it has to be done during the day," said the commissioner.
The recruitment of Administration and regular police will be witnessed by several observer groups including the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa), non-governmental organisations and religious groups.
To be eligible, one must be a Kenyan citizen with a national identity card, have scored a minimum KCSE grade of D+, be physically and medically fit and have no criminal record or pending criminal charges.
