Linda Mwananchi's First Split: Babu Owino, Natembeya and the Party Question

Linda Mwananchi's first open split was over which party should carry Edwin Sifuna (Senator, Nairobi) into 2027. The Nation reported on 17 September 2026 that Babu Owino (Embakasi East) wanted Sifuna to run on The Mwananchi Party, while George Natembeya (Governor, Trans Nzoia) backed the Ukombozi People's Party. It later emerged that the Registrar of Political Parties had refused the Ukombozi name. Caleb Amisi (Saboti) had already left the movement.

The two camps

Owino took over the Muungano Party and renamed it The Mwananchi Party, following a Gazette notice of 24 August. "Another member came up with the Ukombozi People's Party and I called Mr Sifuna," the Nation quoted him, saying the two discussed both options. At a burial in Nyakach on 18 September he proposed that Sifuna lead the Ukombozi People's Party and he lead The Mwananchi Party, with the two allied. We covered that launch in Babu Owino's Mwananchi Party.

Natembeya drove the plan to rebrand the United Democratic Party (UDP), associated with the late Cyrus Jirongo, as the Ukombozi People's Party. The Nation reported the launch was set for 1 October. His own Tawe movement had struggled to register as a party, as we described in Natembeya's Tawe.

What the Registrar changed

In a letter dated 8 September, which became public around 21 and 22 September, Registrar John Cox Lorionokou wrote that his office "has not approved or authorised the use of the name 'Ukombozi People's Party (UPP)'" by UDP. The name, he said, resembled The Ukombozi Alliance, reserved on 20 July 2026 and adopted by Kalonzo Musyoka's coalition on 21 September.

Natembeya's preferred option was gone, at least under that name. We set out the reasoning in why the Registrar blocked the name.

What the rest of the movement said

Sifuna's other allies kept the choice open. On 22 September Godfrey Osotsi (Senator, Vihiga) said, according to the Nation: "Within two weeks, we will announce the party that Edwin Sifuna will use to vie for the presidency." Wilberforce Oundo (Funyula) said "the notion that Mr Sifuna, our presidential candidate, has settled on the Ukombozi Party of Kenya is false." Pauline Njoroge posted: "Very very soon, the Party that we have all been waiting for will be unveiled!"

Other parties were making offers. At a funeral in Saboti, Eugene Wamalwa, leader of the Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K), invited Sifuna to join DAP-K, The Standard reported.

The other fractures

Amisi had gone in August 2026, when he launched the People's Renaissance Movement. The Nation reported on 17 September that he complained of supporters being "removed from WhatsApp groups and branded" as moles.

James Orengo (Governor, Siaya) declared his own presidential bid in late August. At Jacaranda on 13 September he pledged to sit with Sifuna and agree one candidate.

Then there is Kalonzo. The Star reported on 23 September that his camp wanted Sifuna as running mate on a Kalonzo ticket. If Sifuna took that, the party question would matter less at the top of the ticket.

Why the party question is urgent

A movement cannot nominate candidates. Linda Mwananchi has hundreds of aspirants for governor, MP and ward seats, and they need a registered party whose nomination rules the Registrar certifies. Parties must submit those rules by 16 October 2026, and the Registrar certifies them by 30 October. We explained the stakes in the Homa Bay rally's lessons and in our look at Sifuna's options after the setback.

Two allied parties in a coalition can work, and Owino's own proposal assumed as much. The danger for the movement is aspirants in the same county splitting between two symbols before any coalition agreement exists.

What to watch

• The party Sifuna's allies said they would unveil around 3 October, and whether Owino and Natembeya both stand behind it.
• Whether UDP applies for a different name, or Natembeya moves to another vehicle.
• The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal's decision on the Linda names, which it had said would come on 30 September.