Sugarcane farmers in sugar catchment areas will have to wait longer before they can elect their representatives to the Kenya Sugar Board. Elections that were scheduled for 25th June 2026 have been postponed following a High Court ruling that was delivered on 24th June 2026.
The postponement came after Silverious Simon Simiyu, a farmer from Bumula, filed a petition challenging how the government changed the sugar farming zones. Simiyu complained that Bumula Sub-County was moved from the Lower Western Sugarcane Catchment Area to the Upper Western Sugarcane Catchment Area without asking the farmers what they think.
He said over nine thousand farmers in his area would be locked out of the upcoming elections because they have supply contracts with Mumias Sugar Company which is in the Lower Western zone.
The High Court judge, R. Nyakundi, agreed that the matter was serious enough to stop the elections from going ahead. The judge ruled that the status quo, meaning the current situation, should be maintained while the court hears the full case. This means the zoning framework in the Sugar Act cannot be implemented until the courts have properly looked at all the issues.
The judge also decided to transfer the case from Vihiga High Court to Kakamega High Court so it can be heard together with another similar petition that was filed earlier. This consolidation will help the courts make a fair decision that covers all the farmers affected by the zoning problem. The judge said that if the elections went ahead under the disputed zoning system, the farmers would suffer harm that money alone could not fix.
The Kenya Sugar Board has issued a public notice informing all growers and candidates that the elections have been postponed. The notice states that a new election date will be communicated once the court finishes determining the constitutional issues that have been raised.
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