Migori Senator Eddy Oketch has urged politicians to rethink their approach to youth engagement or risk a major voter turnout crisis in the 2027 General Election, as concerns grow over rising apathy among young voters.

Oketch has warned that despite young people forming the largest share of Kenya’s population, their participation in elections remains uncertain due to a disconnect between their aspirations and the country’s political discourse.

Speaking in an interview with a local station on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Oketch has warned that the large numbers of Gen Z may not translate into actual votes if the political establishment continues to ignore the unique aspirations of the youth.

“The majority of voters are young people, but because we are seeing a constant pattern of the politics of banter, mobilization of tribes, and the use of money to bribe people, there might not be an interest for Gen-Zs to show up to vote, which will be unfortunate,” Oketch stated.

Tribal balkanization and partisan banter

Reflecting on the 2022 general election, Oketch noted that out of a voter registry of 22 million, approximately 8 million people did not show up to vote.

He stated that the majority of those who stayed home were young people whose aspirations were not captured by the various political factions.

According to Oketch, the registration of voters among the youths becomes meaningless when politics descends into tribal balkanization and partisan banter rather than addressing the actual challenges facing Gen Z.

“If young people feel that neither faction is offering solutions to their real-world problems and is instead resorting to petty banter, name-calling, or tribal balkanization, then the registration process loses all meaning,” Oketch stated.

Niko Kadi impact on votes

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), just some days after Niko Kadi challenge began, reported a surge in voter registration across the country following the rollout of the ‘Niko Kadi’ initiative.

Speaking to a local television station on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, IEBC commissioner Alutalala Mukhwana said the campaign is already boosting turnout.

Mukhwana said the initiative, which began in Kasarani last week, has significantly increased the number of Kenyans turning up to register.

“We are seeing a surge across the country since this #NikoKadi initiative began in Kasarani last week,” he said.

He explained that the registration process has been streamlined to take approximately 10 minutes, with first-time voters allowed to register from any location nationwide.

“If you are registering as a first-time voter, you are required to register from anywhere… you don’t need to travel to your home constituency; you register anywhere in the country to vote anywhere in the country,” he said.

How the challenge started

Allans Ademba, the founder of the youth-led voter registration initiative “Niko Kadi”, has revealed how his social media strategy helped the campaign go viral, mobilising thousands of young Kenyans to register as voters ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, during an interview with a local radio station, Ademba explained that the idea began as a simple social media experiment.

“I decided to put a tweet out there and said that I am looking for 100,000 unregistered voters in Kasarani,” he said.

“In my mind, I knew very well that it was not going to work because getting 100,000 people when you are just a beginner and nobody knows you was going to be difficult. I put it that way to gain a little bit of traction.”