- High Court suspends September 5 elections for Kenya Sugar Board grower representatives.
- The dispute centres on the classification of Bumula Sub County under the wrong sugarcane catchment.
- The constitutional petition has been fast tracked, with the hearing set for September 11.
The High Court has suspended elections for grower representatives to the Kenya Sugar Board that were scheduled for September 5, 2026. The suspension comes pending the determination of a constitutional petition challenging disputed sugarcane catchment boundaries.
The court also clarified that a status quo order issued on June 24 suspended any election conducted under the First Schedule of the Sugar Act, 2024.
Origins of the dispute
Sugarcane farmer Silverious Simiyu filed the case, challenging the classification of Bumula Sub-county in Bungoma County under the Upper Western sugarcane catchment instead of the Lower Western catchment. According to Simiyu, authorities made the change without meaningful public participation.
In its ruling, the court rejected the interpretation that the June 24 order did not apply to the planned elections. Instead, it held that a status quo order is meant to preserve the legal position that existed when the court issued it, and to prevent changes to the subject of a dispute before the matter is conclusively determined.
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Consequently, the court ordered that any activity amounting to an election under the disputed First Schedule remain temporarily suspended until it hears and determines the petition.
Elections plans disrupted
The decision affects plans by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and the Kenya Sugar Board to elect five grower representatives, one from each of the country’s five sugarcane catchment areas.
However, the court has fast-tracked the petition and scheduled it for oral hearing on September 11. It has also directed all parties to proceed with the case without default.
Notably, the Kenya Sugar Board had already published voter information in preparation for the September 5 elections. Meanwhile, the ministry’s Mukulima Bora platform indicated that voter registration and verification had resulted in 668 polling centres across the five catchment areas.
Wider implications for the sugar belt
The boundary dispute carries wider implications for sugarcane farmers across the sugar belt. The court specifically referred to growers and catchment areas covering Kwale, Migori, Busia, Kisumu, Bungoma and Kakamega counties.
Ultimately, the ruling puts the September 5 election timetable on hold until the court addresses the constitutional challenge over the catchment boundaries.
By Bernard Magada
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