Why man wants Sifuna to account for monies collected by Linda Mwananchi

By  Sam Kiplagat

Court Reporter

Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

• Mr Masakhalia argues that citizens who voluntarily contributed money to the project are entitled to know how the funds are being used.
• He further wants the court to determine what legal remedies are available if the political project is abandoned, diverted, transferred or altered.

A man who says he contributed Sh55 to the Linda Mwananchi campaign has moved to the High Court seeking orders compelling Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and the movement to account for funds raised for the political project.

Mr Alan Masakhalia wants the court to order Mr Sifuna and the Linda Mwananchi outfit to provide a full account of all contributions received through Paybill number 3033049 and any other fundraising channels.

Mr Masakhalia argues that citizens who voluntarily contributed money to the project after being publicly invited to do so are entitled to know how the funds are being held, managed and used.

He further wants the court to determine what legal remedies are available if the political project is abandoned, diverted, transferred or substantially altered in a manner inconsistent with the representations made when the money was solicited.

“The petitioner further asks the court to determine what consequential relief is constitutionally and legally available if the political project is abandoned, diverted, transferred or otherwise substantially altered in a manner inconsistent with the representations upon which citizens contributed their money,” he says.

Mr Masakhalia says the petition is not driven by his personal political preference that Mr Sifuna should run for president. Rather, he argues, it seeks clarity on the legal obligations attached to funds raised from the public for a stated political purpose.

According to him, after raising substantial sums from Kenyans, Mr Sifuna could decide not to pursue a presidential bid, transfer the political support and infrastructure built through the project to another candidate, or use the funds for purposes different from those communicated to contributors.

“Such an eventuality would create a serious question as to whether citizens who contributed their money have enforceable constitutional and statutory interests in the preservation, accounting and lawful use of the funds and political project which they helped finance,” he says.

He wants the court to determine whether Mr Sifuna can lawfully collect money from the public for a presidential bid and later abandon the quest or endorse another candidate after raising the funds.

Mr Masakhalia recalled that on July 21, 2026, Mr Sifuna publicly unveiled Paybill number 3033049 and invited Kenyans to make financial contributions to support the Linda Mwananchi movement.

He claims organisers publicly reported that 9,419 people contributed about Sh519,144 on the first day of the fundraising drive.

“Within approximately 36 hours, the publicly reported total had risen to approximately Sh2,210,836.82,” he says.

The petitioner argues that many of the donations were small contributions, some as low as Sh10, demonstrating that the initiative was presented as a citizen-funded political project rather than a private financial undertaking.

He says he made his contribution voluntarily and in reliance on public representations regarding the project's objectives and the purpose for which citizens were being asked to contribute.

“I did not make the contribution as a private gift to the 1st Respondent for his personal use. Neither was I responding to a medical or educational fundraiser. My contribution was clearly towards Hon. Sifuna’s presidential campaign kitty,” he says.

Mr Masakhalia added that the fundraising appeal attracted contributions from many other Kenyans. Some donations, he says, were collected in buckets displayed in markets in Naitiri, Butula, Kakamega and Kabuchai, bearing Mr Sifuna’s posters that contributors believed were linked to a presidential campaign.

“I believe that the constitutional freedom of a political leader to make political choices does not, by itself, extinguish legal obligations concerning money voluntarily solicited and received from citizens for a publicly represented political purpose,” he says.

The petitioner wants the court to determine whether citizens who contributed financially to the publicly promoted political project acquired enforceable constitutional and statutory rights regarding the use, accounting and disclosure of their contributions.

Among the orders sought is a directive compelling Mr Sifuna and the Linda Mwananchi movement to render a full and verified account of all funds received through Paybill number 3033049 and any other fundraising channels.

He also wants the court to compel the respondents to disclose all expenditure incurred from the funds, including receipts, invoices, payment records and any other supporting documentation.

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