Allans Ademba, the brain behind 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 exclusively on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, with Mwanzo TV, 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. 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.”
“If you study the psychology of social media, you know what is likely to gain numbers and what is likely not to. So, the 100k was initially going to trigger some people to react to it, and the moment they jumped on it, it went viral.”
The initiative quickly gained momentum after Ademba created a WhatsApp group to coordinate interested participants.
Within three hours, over 100 people had joined the group. By the third day, the group had grown to around 800 members, all eager to take part in the voter registration drive.
“I created a WhatsApp group and quoted the same post and said that if you are willing, please join the group so that we can plan a day and go to Kasarani and register as voters. I put it up on March 17th, and within 3 hours, I had over 100 people on the WhatsApp group. I then started updating people to create curiosity, and at the end of the third day we were around 800 people in the WhatsApp group,” he revealed.
“By the time we were registering, I was still second-guessing if people were really going to come. So, the first person that came, I recorded and posted it, same as the second person, thus creating curiosity and awareness.”
The “Niko Kadi” initiative has since become one of Kenya’s most prominent youth mobilisation campaigns, highlighting the power of social media to engage young voters and encourage civic participation.
IEBC lauds ‘Niko Kadi’ initiative
IEBC Commissioner Alutalala Mukhwana has credited the ‘Niko Kadi’ challenge, noting that the commission has witnessed a surge in voter registration across the country following the rollout of the initiative.
Speaking during an interview with a local TV station on the night of Tuesday, March 24, 2026, he 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.
