Sifuna and Kalonzo Are Fighting Over One Word: Ukombozi

Kalonzo Musyoka's side of the opposition holds the word "Ukombozi" and Edwin Sifuna's side does not. The name The Ukombozi Alliance was reserved on 20 July 2026 and adopted by the coalition formerly called Azimio la Umoja on 21 September. In a letter dated 8 September, the Registrar used that reservation to refuse the renaming of UDP as the Ukombozi People's Party, the vehicle Sifuna's allies had planned to use. The two camps tell the story very differently.

Kalonzo's side: we asked first

Eugene Wamalwa, leader of the Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) and a Kalonzo ally, put the case in a couple of sentences, quoted by the Nation on 22 September: "The name has already been approved by the Registrar. We made the request to reserve The Ukombozi Alliance, way before the plan to rebrand Jirongo's party to Ukombozi People's Party."

On that account nobody was ambushed. The alliance's name was on file by 20 July, UDP's request to change its name came later, and the Registrar applied the ordinary first-come rule in section 8(c) of the Political Parties Act.

Sifuna's side: the brand was ours

Sifuna's allies see a pattern. The movement lost its first choice, "Linda Mwananchi Movement", when the Registrar refused it over an older party abbreviated LINDA. Then it lost "Ukombozi People's Party". In August Sifuna told supporters: "We are fighting for our brand."

Wamalwa had said something close to that himself. At a funeral in Saboti, reported by The Standard, he accused the Registrar of frustrating Linda Mwananchi leaders and invited Sifuna to join DAP-K. So a senior figure in Kalonzo's camp complained about the Registrar's treatment of Sifuna's people while his own side benefited from the Registrar's decision.

Caleb Amisi (Saboti), who left Linda Mwananchi, gave The Star his own version: "So the one who ran away with ODM in 2007 orange revolution has now run away with Ukombozi/ Linda Mwananchi parties." The paper did not say whom he meant.

A third claimant

Allan Akivaga describes himself as Secretary-General of a Ukombozi People's Party separate from UDP, and says his group reserved that name in March 2025. In a request reported on 22 September he asked the Registrar to revoke the Ukombozi Alliance name. "The ORPP gave us the go-ahead to submit the registration," Citizen Digital quoted him saying.

The Star reported that the March 2025 reservation was for a 90-day window. In the 8 September letter the Registrar said only that it had not approved UDP's use of the name.

Why one word is worth this much

"Ukombozi" means liberation in Swahili, and both camps had built a message around it. Kalonzo's coalition launched with the slogan "One Term, One Team, One Coalition", given by James Orengo (Governor, Siaya). Kalonzo had already spoken of the mission to "Komboa Kenya", The Star reported on 5 September. On the other side, the Nation reported that Sifuna's allies had planned to launch the Ukombozi People's Party on 1 October.

Only one side can put the word on a ballot line or a coalition agreement, and for now it is Kalonzo's.

What it says about a joint ticket

The fight broke out in the same week that The Star reported, on 23 September, that Kalonzo's camp wanted him named joint opposition candidate by 10 October with Sifuna as running mate. We covered that plan in Kalonzo's 10 October target.

A name dispute and a ticket offer can run side by side, but the dispute makes the ticket harder to agree. Without a registered party of his own, Sifuna would be bargaining from a weaker position; if he unveils a vehicle around 3 October, as his allies promised, his hand gets stronger. And every public exchange over the name is an exchange between the two men the plan would put on one ticket.

Sifuna has kept his public line conciliatory. At Jacaranda on 13 September he said the opposition must walk together with Kalonzo and Rigathi Gachagua.

The legal detail of the refusal is in why the Registrar blocked the name. For the coalition that took the name, see the Ukombozi Alliance explained, and for the routes left to Sifuna, his options after the setback.

What to watch

• The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal's ruling on the Linda names, which it said would come on 30 September.
• Any reply from the Registrar to Akivaga's revocation request.
• Which registered party Sifuna's allies unveil in early October, and whether its name or colours echo the word they lost.