Court to determine Linda Mwananchi registration row; Registrar John Cox says

Speaking at Citizen TV, Cox explained that there are a number of things that need to be done to register a political party. The ORPP, he said, is awaiting the court’s decision over the Linda Mwananchi registration standoff.

“The issue is in court, and we are awaiting the court’s decision, because when I gave my verdict, Kenyans were not pleased with the decision and they went to court,” Cox said.

According to him, a political party should have 25 offices, including 1 headquarters and 24 offices across different counties, all painted in the agreed colours. He added that each party should have at least a thousand members.

This follows a recent row over the registration of the Linda Mwananchi political party, which was moved to the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal, challenging Cox’s decision to reject the reservation of the name Linda Mwananchi and register it as a political party. 

Cox declined to reserve the name, citing the registration of another political entity, Liberty National Democratic Alliance, whose acronym is LINDA.

The registrar, however, assured that Article 38 of the Kenyan Constitution does not limit the number of political parties in Kenya, stating that Kenya has 99 registered parties, and 37 in the provisional registration stage. 

Liberty National Democratic Alliance (LINDA) has since asserted ownership of the name and identity. The party claimed that it began registration in November 2024 and has a nationwide membership base. 

“We are the legitimate LINDA party founding members recognized by the law of the land and recognized by the office of the registrar of political parties,” said Phanesio Thuku, Party Leader LINDA.

Linda Mwananchi has also said that they will pursue legal action to protect the party’s interest.