The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) has overturned the Registrar of Political Parties’ decision to reject an application seeking to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi Movement. The Tribunal has directed the Registrar to reserve the name within seven days, ruling that the decision to reject the application lacked sufficient legal basis.
Tribunal Upholds Applicants’ Right
The dispute was brought before the Tribunal by Caroli Omondi, Pauline Njoroge and Faith Odhiambo, who described themselves as founders of the proposed Linda Mwananchi Movement. The applicants had challenged the Registrar’s refusal to reserve the party name and its proposed abbreviation, LLM. They asked the Tribunal to intervene and compel the Registrar to approve the reservation.
In its determination, the Tribunal set aside the Registrar’s decision, finding that the refusal had no legal justification and effectively denied the applicants an opportunity to pursue the formation of a political party. The Registrar has consequently been ordered to proceed with the reservation of Linda Mwananchi Movement within seven days from the date of the Tribunal’s decision.
Linda Party Struck Out of Proceedings
The Tribunal also considered the role of the Liberty National Democratic Alliance (LINDA), commonly known as Linda Party, which had participated in the case as an interested party. However, the Tribunal determined that LINDA was not a fully registered political party and therefore did not have the legal capacity to institute or defend proceedings, or otherwise participate in the case in its own name. As a result, the Tribunal struck out all pleadings that had been filed by LINDA in the proceedings.
Other Requests Declined
Although the Tribunal granted the applicants’ main request to overturn the Registrar’s refusal and directed that the name be reserved within seven days, it did not grant all the reliefs they had sought.
The decision means that the Registrar is now required to proceed with the reservation of the proposed Linda Mwananchi Movement name, subject to the Tribunal’s orders.
The ruling comes amid continued activity surrounding political party formation and registration in Kenya ahead of the 2027 General Election, with various political actors seeking to establish or align themselves with new political formations.
