Greenlight for Linda Mwananchi at last: Registrar reserves party name for 90 days

The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) has formally approved the reservation of the Linda Mwananchi Movement (LMM) name, clearing a hurdle for the political outfit associated with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.

In a letter dated October 1, 2026, Registrar of Political Parties and CEO John Cox Lorionokou informed the applicants that the application had been approved following a judgment by the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT).

“Pursuant to the judgment in PPDTA/E001/2026 Michael Caroli Omondi & Another Vs Registrar of Political Parties and Section 8 of the PPA, your application for the name Linda Mwananchi Movement (LMM) has been approved,” the Registrar said.

The approval is for a maximum period of 90 days from the date of the letter, giving the promoters a statutory window within which to proceed with the next stages of establishing the proposed political party.

The development comes a day after the PPDT set aside the Registrar's earlier refusal to reserve the name and directed the office to act on the application.

The dispute arose after the Registrar declined an application by Suba South MP Michael Caroli Omondi, Pauline Njoroge and former Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo, who identified themselves as promoters of the proposed movement.

The applicants had challenged the Registrar's decision before the PPDT after the reservation request was rejected.

In its September 30, 2026 judgment, the Tribunal found that the decision contained in the Registrar's August 7 letter declining to reserve Linda Mwananchi Movement was without legal justification.

The Tribunal subsequently set aside the decision and directed the Registrar to reserve the name and abbreviation LMM within seven days.

According to the Tribunal, the refusal had unjustifiably limited the applicants' right to form or participate in forming a political party.

The case was heard by a five-member panel chaired by Innocent Muganda, with the dispute also involving the Liberty National Democratic Alliance (LINDA) as an interested party.

A central issue in the dispute was the existence of another political outfit that had previously reserved the name LINDA.

The Tribunal found that the reservation made by the Liberty National Democratic Alliance on November 15, 2024 was subject to the statutory 90-day reservation period.

According to the judgment as reported after the ruling, no formal application for provisional registration had been filed within that period.

The Tribunal held that the reservation had lapsed and could no longer be relied upon to prevent another applicant from seeking reservation of the name.

The ruling also addressed the legal status of the LINDA outfit in the proceedings.

Reports on the judgment indicate that the Tribunal found it had not attained provisional or full registration and therefore struck out pleadings filed on its behalf in the case.

The Tribunal further rejected the Registrar's reliance on similarity between the competing names as sufficient justification for refusing the Linda Mwananchi application.

The 90-day reservation by ORPP creates the statutory window for the promoters to proceed with the formal processes required for establishment and registration of the political party.

The approval comes amid another claim over the name has emerged.

Charles Wanyonyi, through his lawyers, has claimed that he submitted an application on February 24, 2026 to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi Party of Kenya — several months before the June 4 application associated with Omondi, Njoroge and Odhiambo.

His lawyers wrote to the Registrar on October 1 asking that his earlier application be given priority.

The lawyers argue that Wanyonyi's application preceded the subsequent applicants and that the priority attached to his application should not be displaced by a later application for the same or substantially similar name.

The claim was not part of the PPDT proceedings that resulted in the September 30 judgment.

According to reports, the Tribunal's orders concerned the June application by Omondi, Njoroge and Odhiambo and did not determine Wanyonyi's February application.