The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) has ruled that the reservation of the political party name “Linda” lapsed after the applicants failed to submit a formal application for provisional registration within the statutory 90-day period.
The tribunal found that the name was reserved on November 15, 2024, but no formal application for provisional registration was filed within the period provided under the Political Parties Act.
In its ruling, the tribunal held that the expiry of the reservation extinguished any priority or enforceable interest attached to the name, leaving it available for reservation by another applicant.
“Accordingly, we find that the reservation made on 15 November 2024 lapsed and was extinguished by operation of the statute itself and no action can breathe life into it,” the tribunal ruled.
The case was brought by Caroli Omondi, Pauline Njoroge and Faith Odhiambo, who identify themselves as founders of the Linda Mwananchi Movement.
They challenged the decision by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties to decline reservation of the name “Linda Mwananchi Movement” and its abbreviation LLM.
The applicants had asked the tribunal to compel the Registrar to approve and reserve the name and abbreviation in their favour.
They also sought orders stopping the Registrar from reserving or registering the names “Linda,” “Linda Mwananchi” or any deceptively similar variation in favour of another person or entity.
The tribunal considered the legal framework governing reservation and provisional registration of political party names, including Section 4B of the Political Parties Act, which provides for a 90-day reservation period where a proposed name is available.
It also considered Section 5 of the Act, which requires an association seeking provisional registration to make the necessary application within the prescribed period.
The Registrar told the tribunal that no application for provisional registration had been made within 90 days of the reservation of the name Linda.
After reviewing the documents presented before it, the tribunal said it had found no formal application for provisional registration filed within the required period.
It further found that a letter relied upon by an interested party did not meet the legal threshold for an application for reservation or provisional registration.
The tribunal also noted that the Registrar wrote to Linda on August 14, 2026, requesting documents as part of a formal application for provisional registration.
According to the tribunal, that communication further demonstrated that no formal application had been lodged within the original statutory period.
“Having found that there is no formal application for provisional registration within the period specified in Section 4B(2) of the Political Parties Act as required by Section 5(1)(a), it follows therefore that the reservation of the name Linda lapses on the 90th day of its reservation,” the tribunal held.
The tribunal, chaired by Innocent Muganda, further held that an expired reservation could not be revived through an administrative record or subsequent action by the Registrar.
It said any attempt to revive the reservation after the statutory period had expired would have no legal basis.
The panel also rejected arguments concerning the similarity of the names involved, finding that the names in dispute were different and that their use did not create a likelihood of confusion.
The case also involved officials of the Liberty National Democratic Alliance (LINDA), commonly known as Linda Party, who claimed rights over the party’s name, symbols and identity.
LINDA maintained that it had commenced the registration process in November 2024 and challenged the use of the Linda Mwananchi identity by a movement associated with politicians, including Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi.
However, the tribunal struck out pleadings filed by LINDA after finding that the entity was not a fully registered political party and therefore lacked legal capacity to participate in proceedings in its own name.
“We further find that not being a fully registered party, the interested party cannot sue, be sued, or participate in proceedings in its own name as it has no legal capacity,” the tribunal ruled.
The tribunal consequently struck out all pleadings filed by LINDA for want of legal capacity.
The ruling effectively leaves the disputed “Linda” reservation without the priority claimed from the November 2024 reservation, following the tribunal’s finding that the statutory 90-day period expired without a valid application for provisional registration.
