Nairobi — The Attorney General has asked the High Court to throw out a petition seeking to strip the Inspector General of Police of authority over the National Police Service payroll.

In the case filed by lobby group Sheria Mtaani, the petitioners want conservatory orders issued to restrain the Inspector General from handling payroll administration, arguing that the function should rest with the National Police Service Commission (NPSC).

But in a response lodged in court, the AG maintained the application does not meet the constitutional and legal standards for granting interim orders.

"Conservatory relief is only available where an applicant proves a strong case, shows the petition would be rendered useless without such protection, and demonstrates that public interest would be served. The petitioners have not met any of these tests," the AG stated.

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The State's chief legal adviser further dismissed the fears raised by the applicants as speculative and unsupported by evidence.

The submissions emphasized that Article 245 of the Constitution gives the Inspector General independent command over the police, which includes payroll functions tied to promotions, transfers, and disciplinary processes.

"The Constitution expressly bars anyone from directing the Inspector General on employment, deployment, promotion, suspension, or dismissal of officers," the AG argued.

While noting that the NPSC is constitutionally mandated to handle recruitment, promotions, transfers, and discipline, the AG stressed that no clause in Article 246 assigns payroll management or financial administration to the Commission.

The filings described the petitioners' case as a misstatement of the law, pointing out that the NPSC's role is confined to human resource policy, not daily financial operations.

The AG also cautioned that granting the orders sought would dilute the Inspector General's authority, distort the command structure of the Service, and disrupt policing.

"In the absence of any demonstrated constitutional harm, issuing the orders would upset the balance of authority envisaged in Articles 245 and 246 and compromise the functioning of the Service," the AG told the court.