The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) has ordered the Registrar of Political Parties to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi Movement within seven days.
The Tribunal set aside the Registrar’s decision to reject the proposed name after finding that the refusal lacked legal justification.
The ruling allows the applicants to proceed with the reservation of the Linda Mwananchi Movement name as they pursue the formation of a political party.
“The decision by the Registrar declining to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi is hereby set aside,” the Tribunal ordered.
Tribunal rejects Registrar’s decision
The dispute involved Caroli Omondi, Pauline Njoroge and Faith Odhiambo, who identified themselves as founders of the proposed movement.
The applicants had challenged the Registrar’s refusal to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi Movement and its abbreviation, LLM.
They asked the Tribunal to compel the Registrar to approve and reserve the name in their favour.
The Tribunal found that the Registrar’s decision amounted to a denial of the applicants’ right to form or participate in the formation of a political party.
It consequently directed the Registrar to complete the name reservation within seven days of the decision.
Dispute over Linda party name
The case also involved the Liberty National Democratic Alliance (LINDA), commonly known as Linda Party.
The Tribunal examined LINDA’s participation in the proceedings and found that it was not a fully registered political party.
As a result, the Tribunal determined that LINDA did not have the legal capacity to sue, be sued or participate in proceedings in its own name.
The Tribunal consequently struck out all pleadings filed by LINDA as an interested party.
Tribunal declines other requests
Although the Tribunal granted the applicants’ main request to overturn the Registrar’s decision, it did not grant all the orders they had sought.
The Tribunal declined the applicants’ other prayers in the case.
The key order requires the Registrar to reserve the Linda Mwananchi Movement name within seven days.
The ruling follows an earlier dispute over the proposed party name.
The applicants had said they initially applied to reserve the name on June 4, 2026. The Registrar first rejected the application on grounds of “public interest”, according to reports on the case. (Citizen Digital)
The applicants later said the Registrar agreed to reserve the name following an August 4 meeting, before reversing that position three days later. The reversal was linked to another entity using the acronym LINDA. (Citizen Digital)
What the ruling means
The PPDT order clears the immediate legal obstacle to reservation of the proposed Linda Mwananchi Movement name.
However, reservation of a political party name does not by itself complete the process of registering a fully-fledged political party.
The movement’s organisers would still need to comply with the requirements set out under Kenya’s political parties law and the procedures administered by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties. (The Star)
