The High Court’s declaration of President William Ruto’s establishment of a national taskforce to review police welfare as unconstitutional has caused confusion. Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled on April 10 that the President exceeded his authority by creating the 23-member taskforce, headed by former Chief Justice David Maraga, as it undermined the mandate of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC). The judge further stated that the President’s actions divested the National Police of its powers as mandated by registration and the constitution. The confusion arises from the fact that the service is already implementing some of the recommendations made by the Maraga team. It is likely that the government will appeal the ruling. The judge found that the President overstepped his decision-making authority and that the taskforce’s role in improving the terms and conditions of service for members of the National Police and Kenya Prison Service was the mandate of the NPSC. Dr. Magare Gikenyi, a Nakuru-based medic, filed the case against the unconstitutional national taskforce, which was established by Ruto in December 2022. In his argument, Gikenyi contended that the NPSC, not the President, is responsible for establishing such a taskforce. He also argued that the constitution does not allow the President to direct the work of an independent commission, such as the NPSC. Gikenyi termed the President’s actions as unconstitutional due to the duplication of roles. The National Taskforce on Improvement of Terms and Conditions of Service and other Reforms for Members of the National Police Service, National Youth Service, and Kenya Prisons Service was established to identify legal, policy, administrative, institutional, and operational constraints on effective service delivery and to recommend solutions. The taskforce was chaired by Maraga and was responsible for reviewing the terms and conditions of service for the three services and recommending their improvement. The National Steering Committee, chaired by the Principal Secretary, Internal Security and National Administration, Dr. Raymond Omollo, was gazetted in September 2023 and tasked with implementing the recommendations made by the taskforce. President Ruto revealed in September 2022 that the government would require Sh106 billion to implement the reforms within the National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service, and National Youth Service. The Strategic Framework for Implementation of reforms in the services provides an integrated approach to reform priorities in a strategic and coordinated manner to ensure coherence among reform institutions. This is the first time a Strategic Framework for implementation has been developed by the relevant institutions for police reform initiatives.