The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nakuru has dismissed a petition challenging the conduct of elections by the Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers.
The court ruled that the claims of interference with children’s education and teachers’ freedom of worship were unfounded.
The petitioners, three teachers and a surgeon who described themselves as human rights defenders, had sought to quash the union’s election schedule for violating rights.
“The petitioners submit that the first respondent [Kuppet] has scheduled elections on school days, interfering with the school children’s learning. Teachers will be away from schools, engaging in elections, while they are supposed to be in their classes, teaching,” the petitioners contended.
“The elections are scheduled to continue on weekends. Teachers who worship on Saturdays or Sundays, will have their right and freedom of worship, under Article 32 of the constitution, violated.”
The petitioners sought far-reaching orders, including a permanent injunction to restrain any elected officials from taking office and an order compelling a complete rescheduling of the polls.
Kuppet and its secretary general, Akelo Misori, opposed the petition, pointing out that the poll timeline was guided by a circular from the Registrar of Trade Unions, which mandated branch elections between January and March 2026.
“Consequently, the first respondent issued the schedule of elections, dated November 26, 2025,” the respondents said in their defence.
"All elections are scheduled on weekends, save for one, scheduled on February 27, 2026, which was schools midterm break. The schedule would not in any way interfere with learning."
On the question of worship, the respondents submitted that voting does not occupy an entire day.
“Teachers can worship and vote on the same day.”
They asked the court to throw out the petition, saying the suggestion by the petitioners to defer voting to a later date would interfere with the electoral cycle.
“In responding to the application for conservatory measures, counsel for the first and second respondents had suggested that the petitioners ought to have withdrawn the petition, submitting that the petition did not disclose a reasonable cause of action,” they added.
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, Justice James Rika declined the petition, noting the court had previously declined to grant conservatory measures after finding the respondents had already addressed the petitioners’ apprehensions.
“The affidavit of Akello Misori completely discounted the petitioners’ concerns on violation of the children’s right to education and the teachers’ right and freedom of worship,” the judge observed.
Once the union had proved the elections were not on school days, there was nothing left for the court to try, Justice Rika noted.
The court took the view that trade union elections are a statutory imperative and questioned what alternative day would be suitable if neither weekdays nor weekends were acceptable.
“Where the issues raised in the application for conservatory measure are joined at the hip with the issues raised in the substantive petition and the court declines conservatory measures, it is a strong indication that there is no plausible cause,” Justice Rika stated.
Dismissing the petition, Justice Rika concluded that the matter had been rendered moot by the respondents’ uncontroverted affidavit evidence.
The third and fourth respondents, the Registrar of Trade Unions and the Attorney General, did not participate in the proceedings.
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