Sifuna’s party relaunch plan runs into fresh legal hurdle

By  Joseph Wangui

Correspondent

Nation Media Group

Edwin Sifuna's plan to transform The Equitable Party into Linda Mwananchi Movement has encountered a fresh legal challenge, with two party members seeking to stop a National Delegates Conference (NDC) scheduled for November 13 2026.

Paul Kiragu Gachoka and Pamela Achieng Simwata have asked the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal to halt the meeting, arguing that the party has not followed its constitution in selecting delegates, approving the agenda items and preparing to amend its governing rules.

The complainants also question whether the party has met the constitutional requirements for amending its governing rules and restructuring its leadership ahead of the 2027 General Election.

The complaints were triggered by an October 23 public notice announcing the NDC and a proposal to change the party’s symbol, headquarters and colours. Mr Gachoka and Ms Simwata want the tribunal to quash the notice.

Mr Sifuna unveiled The Equitable Party on October 4, 2026. Its National Executive Committee approved a proposed change of name to Linda Mwananchi Movement on October 8, and the Registrar of Political Parties began the formal name-change process. He intends to vie for presidency using the rebranded outfit.

This followed his exit from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, where he was serving as the secretary-general.

According to the complainants, the planned NDC cannot consider the proposed changes because its agenda was not approved by the National Governing Council, as required by the party constitution.

“It (party constitution) states that only agenda items approved by the NGC, National Governing Council, shall be discussed at the ordinary session of the National Delegates Conference,” their lawyer, Eddy Otieno, told the tribunal on Tuesday.

He said the party constitution limits discussion at an ordinary delegates conference to agenda items approved by the council.

The NDC agenda includes proposed changes to the party’s name, colours, symbol and headquarters, amendments to its constitution and nomination and election rules, and possible coalition arrangements for the 2027 elections.

Mr Otieno also questioned whether the National Elections Board had been appointed. He said the party had not demonstrated that the delegates’ conference was properly constituted under the same constitution.  The tribunal as chaired by Mr Innocent Muganda.

Asking for an interim order blocking the NDC, the lawyer warned that major changes could be made before the tribunal determines whether the meeting was properly convened.

“The difficulty that will arise then is that if the honourable court finds that the NDC was not properly convened according to the party constitution, then the party would have already undergone substantial institutional changes,” he said.

However, the party opposed the application, saying the complainants had failed to use its internal dispute resolution process and had not proved their membership. Its lawyer, Duncan Anzala, said the complainants joined the party on October 22, 2026 and objected to the proposed name change the following day.

He said they were invited to a meeting to address the objection but failed to attend.

Mr Anzala accused them of joining the party to delay preparations for the party’s 2027 elections.

“There are parties who are joining the political party with a view to trying to delay that process. I would lump the complainants among those parties,” he told the tribunal.

He said parliamentary and governors’ groups were absent because the party had no members elected to those offices in 2022.

On quorum, Mr Anzala cited a section of the party constitution saying it required 30 per cent of eligible members present and voting.

Tribunal member Jacob Ngwele questioned whether new members enjoy the same rights as longstanding members.

“If somebody joins tomorrow, yesterday, or the day before, is that person a half a member, a quarter member?” he asked.

Mr Anzala replied: “A genuine member is a member who will want the party to thrive.”

The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties said it received the objections and forwarded them to the party. It said the office reviewed the party’s response and found that the objections had been handled under its constitution.

The tribunal heard that the registrar would also assess the conference returns before deciding whether the proposed changes could take effect. The registrar asked the tribunal to reject the complainant’s application.

In a rejoinder, Mr Otieno said a letter dated October 28 challenging the conference notice was sent to the party but received no response. The party maintained that the complainants had not properly pursued internal dispute resolution.

The tribunal reserved its decision for Thursday, November 12, a day before the planned conference.

A separate complaint by James Onyango Nyangor also sought to stop elections at the meeting. The party confirmed that no elections would be held on November 13, and the tribunal marked that application as compromised.

Follow ourWhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.