KISUMU, Kenya – The High Court in Kisumu has temporarily suspended the 2026 National Youth Council (NYC) elections after issuing conservatory orders halting the entire electoral process pending the hearing and determination of a constitutional petition challenging the exercise.
Justice Alfred Mabeya issued the orders after considering submissions by the petitioner’s lawyer, effectively stopping all remaining stages of the elections that had been scheduled over the course of July.
The court suspended the ward-level elections slated for July 5, the constituency elections scheduled for July 16, and the National Youth Congress elections set for July 27, as outlined in Gazette Notice No. 5586 published on April 17, 2026.
In the orders, Justice Mabeya barred the respondents, their agents and servants from conducting or proceeding with the ward, constituency and National Youth Congress elections until they fully comply with the National Youth Council (Election of Certain Council Members) Regulations, 2021.
The court also issued a mandatory injunction directing the respondents to publish a verified and publicly accessible final voters’ register, saying the electoral process must meet the legal requirements before the elections can proceed.
The case stems from a constitutional petition filed by Austine Ogalo, who argues that the planned elections violate both the Constitution and the National Youth Council election regulations.
According to the petition, the electoral process has been marred by a lack of transparency and procedural irregularities.
Ogalo claims there was no publicly available final voters’ register, no published list of cleared candidates, inadequate civic education, poor public communication regarding the election process, and a failure to establish and gazette constituency election steering committees or appoint election officials as required by law.
He argues that the alleged failures undermine constitutional principles on transparency, access to information and meaningful youth participation, warning that the process could disenfranchise millions of eligible young voters across the country.
Justice Mabeya said the reasons for granting the conservatory orders will be provided in a detailed ruling scheduled for September 18, 2026.
Until then, the orders suspending the National Youth Council elections will remain in force pending the hearing and determination of both the application and the constitutional petition.
