The Employment and Labour Relations Court on Wednesday dismissed an application by Wilson Sossion seeking to halt Kenya National Union of Teachers national elections, clearing the way for the exercise to proceed as scheduled.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Jacob Gakeri, the court declined to grant conservatory orders that would have suspended elections for the positions of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General.
Sossion had asked the court to restrain union officials and agents from barring him and other candidates from contesting in the elections slated for 2 April 2026 and 3 April 2026. He also sought to suspend implementation of a 13 March 2026 circular outlining the electoral process.
The court heard that Sossion further wanted the elections halted until all 110 union branches, 47 county councils and eight regional councils were fully constituted.
Court cites union rules and public interest
Justice Gakeri ruled that the issues raised, including nomination and eligibility, are governed by the union constitution and relevant legal frameworks.
“The core foundation of the application, that is nomination and eligibility, are well provided for by the constitution of the association,” the judge said.
The court assessed whether the applicant had established a strong case, demonstrated risk to constitutional rights and shown that the petition would be rendered ineffective if the orders were not granted.
It also considered whether granting the orders would serve public interest and concluded that stopping the elections would not.
“Public interest is not in favour of granting the conservatory orders sought,” Justice Gakeri said.
The union opposed the application, arguing that its electoral process is guided by its constitution and that halting the elections would disrupt its operations.
Sossion had also sought a temporary injunction to restrain officials from processing, registering or certifying any results arising from the elections.
However, the court declined all the requests, allowing the elections to proceed as planned.
The ruling comes days after the Court of Appeal set aside Sossion termination in a separate dispute involving the Teachers Service Commission.
KNUT is now set to conduct its national elections on 2 April 2026 and 3 April 2026 as scheduled.
