The task force has observed that the one-day manual recruitment process is extremely hurried and, in some instances, hinders transparency and promotes malpractices such as corruption, tribalism, and favouritism.
On the other hand, the task force acknowledges that a longer recruitment process without proper checks could facilitate further abuse. The current one-day process is, however, in violation of the provisions of the SSOs and the NPSC Recruitment Regulations. It is not well suited for the kind of careful and elaborate approach needed for a professional service. The approach also goes against good practices as seen in other jurisdictions.
The task force found that the public as well as officers are convinced that recruitment into NPS is a corrupt affair with little regard for merit and aptitude. The task force shares in this conclusion and is of the view that this corruption has significantly eroded professionalism and service delivery.
The National Police Service and NPSC do not undertake a pre-recruitment assessment of policing needs in the country. Yet security needs are always changing and the numbers and the kind of recruits and specialists needed should reflect those changes and be guided by data and analysis.
The commission is required to ensure that the recruitment process takes into consideration gender, regional and ethnic balance in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the NPSC Act and the NPS Act, as well as the recruitment regulations that NPSC has developed on these diversity considerations.
The task force notes that recruitment is conducted in every county and subcounty in the country to ensure geographical (and ethnic) diversity of those recruited. However, an analysis of available data by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission shows that the ethnic distribution of the numbers of officers in the service is skewed in favour of some communities.
A glaring illegality is that the recruitment process has not factored in the gender requirements as envisaged by the law and applicable rules. The 2022 gender composition of NPS shows that male officers were 86 per cent of the service while female officers made up 14 per cent.
Abridged section on recruitment in the Maraga task force report