IN SHORT: Recruitment into Kenya’s police is highly sought-after, especially by young people. But a call for applications posted on social media in December 2022 is false.
A post on a Facebook page called Kenya Police College claims that those who are “suitably qualified” can apply for recruitment into the country’s police service for 2022/2023.
The post reads: “Applications are invited from in suitably qualified Kenyans for the 2022/2023 National Kenya Police recruitment exercise. INTERESTED AND SUITABLY QUALIFIED members of the public can apply for any of the positions available at Kenya Police Service.”
Kenya’s National Police Service (NPS) is made up of the Kenya Police Service, the Administrative Police Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigation.
The 20 December 2022 post included photos of past police recruitments. Applicants are told to contact the head of the National Police College in the central Kenyan county of Nyeri, although it is not made clear why.
The post is riddled with grammatical errors, but despite this, could the recruitment call be authentic? We checked.
‘Advert is fake’
Recruitment into Kenya’s police is competitive, leading to scammers looking to take advantage of those interested. We have debunked some of these fraudulent claims before.
Kenya’s national police advertises job openings on its website. We searched it and came up empty with anything like what is being advertised on this Facebook page. The most recent recruitment was in March 2022, when 5,000 police constable positions were open.
Through its official Facebook and Twitter accounts the NPS also warned the public about the ad. It posted a copy of it, stamped “FAKE”.
“Please be informed that the said advert is fake, and the National Police Service has not called for any applications whatsoever,” a statement signed by Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome read.
“We take this opportunity to warn the perpetrators to desist from such criminal behaviour, and those found culpable will be dealt with promptly in accordance with the law.”
The NPS said that they inform Kenyans of any “recruitment exercise into the service through an advertisement in print media in the usual manner”.
This ad on Facebook should be ignored.
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