Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s political movement has received a major boost after the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal overturned a decision by the Registrar of Political Parties blocking the reservation of the Linda Mwananchi Movement name.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, September 30, the tribunal set aside the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties’ decision and directed the Registrar to reserve the name within seven days.
“The decision by the Registrar declining to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi is hereby set aside,” the tribunal ruled.
The decision clears a key legal hurdle for the movement as political positioning intensifies ahead of the August 10, 2027 General Election.
The dispute was filed by Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, political activist Pauline Njoroge and former Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo, who described themselves as founders of the Linda Mwananchi Movement.
They challenged the Registrar’s refusal to reserve Linda Mwananchi Movement and its abbreviation, arguing that the decision infringed on their constitutional political rights.
The tribunal found that the Registrar had failed to provide sufficient legal justification for declining the application and that the decision interfered with the applicants’ right to form or participate in the formation of a political party.
The dispute centred on an earlier reservation of the name “Linda” by another political outfit.
According to the tribunal, that reservation, made on November 15, 2024, had expired after the statutory 90-day period lapsed without a formal application for provisional registration being made.
“Accordingly, we find that the reservation made on 15 November 2024 lapsed and was extinguished by operation of the statute itself and no action can breathe life into it,” the tribunal said.
The tribunal held that once the reservation period expired, the name became available to other applicants and could not later be revived through administrative action by the Registrar.
It relied on Sections 4B and 5 of the Political Parties Act, which regulate the reservation of political party names and applications for provisional registration.
The tribunal also cited the constitutional protections under Article 36 on freedom of association and Article 38 on political rights, including the right of citizens to form or participate in the formation of political parties.
The ruling marks an important development for the Linda Mwananchi Movement, which has increasingly been associated with Sifuna and his allies during political rallies and mobilization ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wednesday’s decision clears the way for the name reservation process and subsequent steps required under the Political Parties Act.
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