Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has announced plans to rebrand The Equitable Party (TEP) as the Linda Mwananchi Movement, as he prepares to contest Kenya’s 2027 presidential election.
Sifuna made the announcement on Sunday, October 4, during the unveiling of TEP in Nairobi, saying the proposed name change had been agreed upon by the principals and supporters of the Linda Mwananchi movement.
He said the party would proceed with the rebranding process in the coming days but warned that TEP would remain its political vehicle if further administrative or legal obstacles emerged.
The announcement follows weeks of disputes over the Linda Mwananchi name. The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties had initially rejected an application to reserve the name, citing concerns surrounding its use and the acronym LINDA.
On September 30, however, the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal declared the registrar’s rejection unlawful and unconstitutional, saying the previous reservation of the LINDA name had lapsed and directing the registrar to reconsider the decision.
The registrar subsequently approved the reservation of Linda Mwananchi for up to 90 days, according to correspondence cited by Kenyan media.
The dispute has involved competing political entities and name changes. The Mwananchi Party, associated with Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, formally changed its name from Linda Mwananchi in September, while another political party using the LINDA identity has also challenged the Sifuna-led movement’s use of the name.
Sifuna was formally named leader and presidential candidate of the Linda Mwananchi Movement in late September, with the movement’s principals saying they had resolved to move forward together ahead of the 2027 election.
At Sunday’s event, Sifuna said the political vehicle would promote a vision in which leadership is treated as a responsibility and public resources as a public trust, with national problems addressed through democratic institutions and the law.
The planned rebranding marks another step in Sifuna’s effort to establish a political vehicle for the 2027 presidential race, following earlier uncertainty over which registered party would carry the movement’s candidates.
With the name reservation now approved on a temporary basis, the movement faces the next stage of formalising its political identity ahead of the 2027 General Election.
