Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has warned that the suspension of police recruitment risks exposing the country to serious security threats, noting that Kenya has not hired new officers in four years.

Speaking on Thursday at the Jukwaa la Usalama forum in Nairobi, Murkomen expressed frustration with a court order halting the exercise, which was scheduled to begin Friday, October 3, 2025.

The government had planned to recruit 10,000 officers to fill a critical shortage caused by years of retirements and natural attrition.

“We are disappointed by the court’s decision to halt recruitment, especially given the acute shortage of officers. However, we will respect the law and postpone the exercise. We hope the issue will be resolved quickly so that our young people can be enlisted to bolster security,” he said.

Murkomen stressed that the pause endangers a process that has been dormant for far too long.

“I wish I could directly call the judge to explain the consequence of stopping recruitment that has never happened for the last four years. It is very critical for the safety of our country to recruit those police officers urgently, not just because of anything else, but to secure our borders,” he said.

The CS explained that the government initially intended to employ 3,500 officers, but President William Ruto and Treasury expanded the target to 10,000 due to the growing security gap.

“There are many retired police officers, and some have passed on. We need replacements, energetic officers who will be trained and deployed quickly to even support the next election,” he said.

With the next general election looming and security demands mounting, Murkomen warned that any further delay could undermine both internal security and border protection.

Despite his frustration, Murkomen stressed that the government will abide by the legal process and expressed hope that the judge who issued the order would reconsider her decision and allow the recruitment to proceed swiftly.

“I hope that the judge will watch my speech so that I don’t need to call her, and will apply reason to ensure that the process is reopened quickly to allow our country to recruit the police officers it so badly needs,” he concluded.