Two rival applications for the Linda Mwananchi name have re-emerged, with Charles Wanyonyi claiming his February 24, 2026 application predates the June 4 filing linked to Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.
In the fresh dispute, Mr Wanyonyi’s lawyers have asked the Registrar of Political Parties to give priority to his application, arguing that the earlier request should not be displaced by a later applicant.
The demand comes a day after the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal set aside the Registrar’s decision rejecting Sifuna’s proposal to register Linda Mwananchi Movement (LMM) name.
The Tribunal allowed an appeal filed by Sifuna’s allies — Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, political activist Pauline Njoroge and former Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo — and ordered reconsideration of their application within seven days.
Court documents show the appellants had submitted six proposed names, all incorporating “Linda Mwananchi”: Linda Mwananchi Alliance (LMA), Linda Mwananchi Alliance of Kenya (LMAK), Linda Mwananchi Coalition (LMC), Linda Mwananchi Party (LMP), Linda Mwananchi Party of Kenya (LMPK), and Linda Mwananchi People’s Party.
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The fresh claim places two applications before the Registrar. The case before the Tribunal did not concern Mr Wanyonyi’s February application. Its orders concerned the June applications by Omondi, Ms Njoroge and Ms Odhiambo for registration of LMM and the Registrar’s August 7 refusal.
In an October 1 letter, Wanzau, Odhiambo & Associates, acting for Mr Wanyonyi, said his application for “Linda Mwananchi Party of Kenya” was lodged on February 24, 2026. The lawyers said the three appellants applied on June 4.
“His application, therefore, preceded the subsequent applicants by more than three months. The priority attaching to our client's application cannot lawfully be displaced by a later application for the same or substantially similar name,” says the advocates.
They asked the Registrar to process and reserve Mr Wanyonyi’s proposed name, citing Section 4B of the Political Parties Act and the earlier application date.
Section 4B(2) of the Political Parties Act, which provides that where a name has not been reserved for another proposed or registered political party, the Registrar “shall” reserve it for an applicant for 90 days. Section 4B(3) requires written notification on availability within 14 days.
Mr Wanyonyi’s lawyers argued that these provisions require the earlier application to be considered before a later request. They demanded written confirmation within seven days that his proposed name had been reserved.
Wanyonyi's February application had earlier been rejected over alleged similarity to the reserved slogan “Linda Mkenya, Boresha Kenya” and public-interest concerns, hence against Section 8 of the Political Parties Act. He did not challenge the Registrar’s decision at the Tribunal.
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The Tribunal’s judgment addressed whether the Registrar lawfully declined the June application for Linda Mwananchi Movement by Sifuna’s allies.
The Registrar rejected the applications on June 11, citing public interest. A further August 7 letter again declined them, referring to prior approval and the existence of the abbreviation LINDA by the Liberty National Democratic Alliance.
The Tribunal found the Registrar had not explained the public-interest basis. “The respondent did not explain what public interest consideration informed its decision,” the judgment states.
The panel also examined Liberty National Democratic Alliance, known as LINDA, and found it was not a fully or provisionally registered political party.
It held that the reservation expired after 90 days from the November 2025 application. “We find that the reservation of Liberty National Democratic Alliance, LINDA, automatically lapsed by operation of law,” the judgment says.
The Tribunal further found that the Registrar could not revive the expired reservation through an August 14, 2026 letter. The expired reservation therefore could not block a fresh application.
The panel also rejected reliance on similarity between Linda Mwananchi and LINDA. It found the names different in wording, sound and meaning.
The judgment says “Linda” is a Kiswahili word meaning protect or defend, while LINDA is an abbreviation formed from Liberty National Democratic Alliance.
It found nothing suggesting Linda Mwananchi Movement and LINDA were similar. It also cited the Registrar’s reservation of The Mwananchi Party on August 3, 2026.
Linda Mwananchi team members during the endorsement of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as the outfit’s presidential candidate for the 2027 General Election on September 27, 2026.
Photo credit: Pool
The panel said the differing treatment breached constitutional requirements on equality and fair administrative action and affected the right to form or participate in forming a political party.
The Tribunal struck out LINDA’s pleadings because it was not fully registered and lacked legal capacity to participate in the case.
It set aside the Registrar’s August 7 decision and directed reconsideration of the June application for Linda Mwananchi Movement and LMM within seven days.
The judgment also said the internal database entry showing LINDA’s reservation was only an administrative record and could not preserve a reservation already extinguished by statute.
The October 1 letter places Mr Wanyonyi’s earlier application before the Registrar alongside the Tribunal’s seven-day reconsideration order.
