Digital strategist and communication specialist Pauline Njoroge /XThe Political Parties Disputes Tribunal is set to rule on Wednesday on a dispute over the Linda Mwananchi name, with the outcome expected to determine whether Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and his allies will retain their preferred political identity or proceed under an alternative name.
The tribunal will deliver its judgment at 2.30pm on an appeal challenging the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties’ (ORPP) decision on the reservation and proposed registration of the Linda Mwananchi Movement.
The movement, comprising Sifuna and allies Pauline Njoroge, Faith Odhiambo and Caroli Omondi, challenged the Registrar’s decision amid competing claims over the use of the Linda Mwananchi identity ahead of the 2027 elections.
At the centre of the case are questions over whether the Registrar lawfully rejected the proposed name, whether Linda Mwananchi is sufficiently similar to Liberty National Democratic Alliance, known as LINDA, to cause confusion, and whether competing entities had acquired prior rights to similar names or identities.
The tribunal will also determine whether the Registrar was justified in relying on public interest and existing political entities to reject the application, and whether the promoters were accorded fair administrative action during the process.
On August 25, the tribunal temporarily allowed the Sifuna-led camp to reserve the alternative name 'The Mwananchi Party' while directing the Registrar not to process or register Linda Mwananchi variations in favour of rival entities pending determination of the dispute.
Njoroge said the camp was prepared to accept whichever way the tribunal rules, suggesting the judgment would not derail Sifuna’s efforts to establish a political vehicle.
"Whether we get the name or not, all shall be well because a rose by any other name will still smell nice," she said on X.
She said the political vehicle Sifuna eventually adopts would attract the same support that has accompanied the Linda Mwananchi initiative, and hinted that its unveiling could come within days.
"The party Edwin Sifuna unveils in the next few days will be the most popular and most talked about in the country. Akiangalia nyuma atapata watu wengi sana," she said.
The dispute comes after a series of challenges in Sifuna’s efforts to establish a political platform outside the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
The Registrar rejected the proposed registration of the Linda Mwananchi Movement, citing similarities with existing entities and public interest considerations.
The Registrar said Liberty National Democratic Alliance had pursued registration of LINDA, while another applicant had lodged a dispute over the name Linda Mwananchi Party of Kenya.
Sifuna and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya subsequently explored taking over the United Democratic Party (UDP), but the move was challenged by the party’s officials.
The faction later sought to rebrand the UDP as the Ukombozi People's Party, but that effort encountered opposition after the Wiper Democratic Movement presented documents showing prior reservation of Ukombozi-related names and the Ukombozi Alliance under the Azimio coalition.
Earlier, Sifuna had lost his position as ODM secretary general after the Registrar updated the party’s records affirming his ouster.
His efforts to challenge the expulsion before the tribunal failed to prevent the Registrar from effecting the change in the official records.
Wednesday’s judgment will settle the dispute over the Linda Mwananchi identity while leaving the Sifuna camp to determine its next political vehicle ahead of the 2027 electoral contest.
