The launch of The Equitable Party (TEP) at the Sarova Stanley in Nairobi on October 4 /HANDOUTKakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has claimed that Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s The Equitable Party (TEP) registered more than one million members within hours of its unveiling.
Khalwale made the claim on X, saying the party had attracted 1,084,736 members less than 10 hours after its launch.
“It is not even 24 hours since Linda Mwananchi took over The Equitable Party. And now look how Kenyans are registering to join in their millions,” Khalwale posted.
The membership figure had not been independently verified at the time of the claim.
The reported surge comes after Sifuna was unveiled as the party’s leader and presidential flagbearer during a ceremony in Nairobi on Sunday, October 4.
Sifuna also announced plans to rebrand The Equitable Party as the Linda Mwananchi Movement, the name under which he and his supporters have been building a political movement ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking during the unveiling, Sifuna said the proposed change had been agreed upon by the movement’s principals and supporters who had helped establish its political identity.
He, however, warned that the party could retain the TEP name if further obstacles were placed in the way of the rebranding process.
Sifuna said that in the event the name-change bid failed, the party would continue operating under its current identity and proceed to the 2027 ballot as The Equitable Party.
The launch also formally positioned Sifuna as a presidential contender, with Suba South MP Caroli Omondi declaring him the presidential candidate of the new formation.
Omondi said the movement would rally behind a single presidential candidate as it seeks to build a united political platform ahead of the 2027 contest.
“In this journey to deliver this change, we are going to be led by one, and I now want to declare here that this formation will be led by one presidential candidate, Edwin Watenya Sifuna; we shall be united in this course,” Omondi said.
Sifuna pledged to lead the party with integrity and political decorum as he prepares to contest the presidency.
The Nairobi senator said the party would champion change and people-centred leadership, which he presented as an alternative approach to addressing some of the challenges facing the country.
“We believe in equal opportunities for everyone in this nation. We will listen before we speak, consult before we decide and explain policies and account for all our actions,” Sifuna said.
The launch gives Sifuna a formal political vehicle as opposition leaders position themselves ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.
