A wave of public anger has erupted after a newly recruited Administration Police officer was sent away from training at the National Police College (NPC), Embakasi Campus, after being found with a visible tattoo during a medical examination.
According to a letter dated 18 December 2025, the Chief Instructor at the Embakasi campus ordered the immediate discontinuation of the recruit from Recruit Course No. 1/2025.
The officer had been recruited into the Administration Police Service in November 2025 from Kajiado North Sub-County, Kajiado County, and had reported to the college on 24 November 2025 to begin basic training.
The official letter, which has since circulated widely on social media, states that during a routine medical examination, the recruit was found to have a visible tattoo on their body.
The presence of the tattoo was cited as the reason the officer was declared unfit to undertake basic recruit training, leading to their immediate dismissal from the course.
The decision has sparked strong reactions online and among members of the public, with many Kenyans questioning why the issue of tattoos was not addressed earlier during the recruitment process.
Critics argue that it is unfair to recruit someone, allow them to report to training, and only later dismiss them over a condition that is clearly visible and could have been identified during initial vetting.
“This is very painful and demoralizing,” one social media user commented. “How do you recruit someone, give them hope, then chase them away over a tattoo that was there from the beginning?”
By Meta