A fresh court battle has erupted after two activists moved to the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nyeri seeking the reinstatement of 18 female police recruits allegedly dismissed from the National Police College, Kiganjo, solely because they were pregnant.
In the petition filed against the Inspector General of Police, the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) and the Attorney General, the activists argue that the dismissals were unconstitutional, discriminatory and violated the recruits’ rights to equality, dignity, fair labour practices and fair administrative action.
According to the court documents, the 18 women were among approximately 10,000 recruits selected during the nationwide police recruitment exercise conducted in November 2025 and had already reported for basic training at Kiganjo.
The petition states that all female recruits were subjected to mandatory pregnancy tests upon reporting, after which the 18 who tested positive were immediately dismissed from the programme.
The activists argue that the affected women were already pregnant before joining the college and did not conceive during training. They further contend that there is no law or publicly gazetted policy providing for automatic dismissal of police recruits on grounds of pregnancy.
“The blanket application of pregnancy as an automatic disqualifier for female police recruits is discriminatory on its face,” the petition states.
The suit faults the police service for allegedly failing to consider alternative measures such as deferment of training, temporary leave or re-admission in future intakes after delivery and postpartum recovery.
The petitioners are now seeking orders compelling the reinstatement of the recruits into the next available intake and directing the police service to formulate a constitutionally compliant policy on pregnancy during police recruitment and training.
They are also seeking orders barring further dismissal of recruits solely on grounds of pregnancy pending the establishment of such a policy.
