The High Court has halted the rollout of public participation on the proposed Private Security Regulations 2025 after the Security Academy moved to court challenging the short notice issued by the government.
Lady Justice Roselyne Aburili granted the temporary suspension in a ruling delivered under a certificate of urgency. The application had been filed on November 19, 2025, just two days before the public participation forums were set to begin.
According to the applicant a security guard representing the Security Academy the notice published on November 18 on the MYGOV platform offered only a three-day window before consultations were to commence on November 21. He argued that this timeframe was far too limited to allow meaningful engagement with the draft regulations, which span more than 50 pages across four separate documents.
Justice Aburili agreed that the matter warranted urgent intervention, noting that while the court had not examined the merits of the case, the issues raised were valid and not frivolous.
She ordered that the leave granted to file a judicial review would serve as a stay, effectively freezing the planned public participation sessions until the full case is heard and determined.
The respondents named in the suit include the Interior Cabinet Secretary, the Private Security Regulatory Authority, the National Assembly, the National Treasury, and the Attorney General. The applicant sought to stop these entities from conducting the scheduled forums in Garissa, Machakos, Kisumu, Kakamega, Mombasa, Nyeri, and Nairobi.
The petition further argued that the government’s reliance solely on the MYGOV publication to announce the consultations limited public awareness, preventing a broad and fair participation process. It also claimed that citizens were denied enough time to study the draft regulations, understand their implications, and submit informed feedback.
The case will now proceed to a substantive hearing to determine whether the notice and planned public participation complied with constitutional standards.
