By Bob Waswani
NAIROBI, Kenya – July 24, 2025 – The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has dismissed a petition by five casual laborers representing 285 others, who challenged their termination by the National Police Service (NPS) and sought absorption into 1,070 permanent positions. Justice Helen Wasilwa, in a July 23, 2025, ruling, struck out the case as “incompetent” due to the petitioners’ failure to disclose the identities of the 285 laborers or provide their authorization, underscoring procedural rigor in Kenya’s labor disputes.
Elizabeth Akinyi Juma, Everlyne Chebet Kinjo, Lena Mawia Mwaniki, Joan Mukuhu Nyoike, and Mark Wanjama Muniu filed the petition against the NPS Commission, its CEO, the Inspector General of Police, the Ministry of Interior, and the Attorney General. They claimed that their termination on July 5, 2024, and the NPS’s recruitment process for permanent roles violated fair labor practices under Article 41 of the Constitution and Section 37 of the Employment Act, which deems long-serving casual workers as permanent employees. The petitioners, engaged since 2018, argued they had a legitimate expectation of absorption, citing six years of continuous service and internal NPS correspondence promising permanent roles.
The petitioners alleged the recruitment process, advertised on June 6, 2023, in the Daily Nation, was opaque and unconstitutional, lacking transparency in shortlisting and excluding them despite their experience. They claimed the NPS’s failure to submit a complete list of casual workers to the NPS Commission before the recruitment breached Articles 10 and 232, which mandate transparency and accountability. The termination, they argued, was procedurally unfair, lacking notice or a hearing, violating Articles 41 and 47.
The respondents, led by the NPS Commission, countered that the petitioners’ initial engagement as casuals by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and the Ministry of Interior’s Principal Secretary was unlawful, as only the Commission has recruitment authority under Article 246. They argued the Employment Act does not apply to NPS staff, per Section 3(2)(b) and the Nyaga v NPS Commission (2024) ruling, which subjects civilian and uniformed staff to the NPS Act. The recruitment, they said, was fair, attracting over 100,000 applications, with 273 casuals applying, 90 shortlisted, and 83 appointed. Virtual interviews, held from July 25 to August 5, 2024, ensured safety amid Finance Bill protests. The respondents dismissed claims of legitimate expectation, stating no lawful promise of absorption existed.
Justice Wasilwa ruled that the petition’s failure to identify the 285 laborers or provide their authorization rendered it defective, citing the Anarita Karimi Njeru (1979) principle requiring precision in constitutional claims. She noted the NPS Commission’s exclusive recruitment mandate, invalidating the DIG’s engagement of casuals. The court found no evidence of constitutional violations, striking out the petition without costs.