Kalonzo, Sifuna locked in battle over the 'Ukombozi' party name

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka at a past function. [File, Standard]

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is set to replace former President Uhuru Kenyatta in the chairmanship of the newly rebranded Azimio coalition, which has morphed into the Ukombozi Alliance if the ongoing controversy over the name is resolved.

Controversy surrounding the name ‘Ukombozi’ intensified yesterday after a group that had struck a deal with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and his allies to rebrand former Lugari MP the late Cyrus Jirongo’s United Democratic Party (UDP) to Ukombozi Peoples Party hit a snag.

Disagreement arose when the group learned that the Registrar of Political Parties had agreed to reserve the name "Ukombozi" for the Azimio team, as announced by Wiper Democratic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Monday.

The group led by Allan Akivaga, the Secretary General of the original Ukombozi People’s Party, had reserved the name on March 5, 2025, but later initiated the process to discontinue the registration after talks with Sifuna’s team to rebrand UDP to Ukombozi. They have now accused the Registrar, John Lorionokou, of backstabbing them and are also demanding that the original process of registering Ukombozi People's Party be completed.

 "We have elected to stop the rebranding of UDP and instead proceed with the registration of Ukombozi. We will no longer pursue the discontinuation process," said Akivaga yesterday.

The party accused the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties of granting the reservation to Kalonzo’s team despite being the one that had reserved the name in the first place.

“UPP secured its name reservation on March 5, 2025, and initiated its registration process. Despite this prior active reservation, your Office granted subsequent name reservations to Ms Eunice Lumalas for Ukombozi Freedom Front (Reserved: July 31, 2025), Ukombozi Alliance (Reserved: October 24, 2025) and Ukombozi Kenya Coalition (Reserved: January 26, 2026),” the letter read in part.

The letter added, "We therefore request that no action be taken that would prejudice UPP's rights or interests in relation to the “Ukombozi” identity until these matters have been properly investigated and determined.”

Correspondence between the ORPP and UPP seen by The Standard shows that UPP, through Akivaga, wrote to the Registrar on July 9 this year, communicating its decision to discontinue the registration process of the party, with the ORPP replying to the letter on August 6, seeking submission of more documents.

Ukombozi Alliance faces a name row. [File, Standard]

“Upon review of the submitted documents, it is noted that the statutory documentation is incomplete for processing the aforementioned party registration discontinuation. To protect the integrity of the process and verify individual consent, you are hereby required to also attach duly signed and attested affidavits for each founding member,” read a letter from Florence Birya on behalf of the Registrar of Political Parties.

The UPP, in its objection to Azimio's rebranding, said it was concerned that the ORPP had engaged in the ‘continued absence of a definitive conclusion, despite its prompt compliance with the latest request for affidavits, saying it would go full throttle in its registration process.

The decision by the UPP consequently frustrates Sifuna’s efforts to rebrand UDP into Ukombozi People's Party and paves the way for a legal battle between the original founding members of the party and Kalonzo’s team, which has already received a nod from the ORPP to continue with the registration of The Ukombozi Alliance into a coalition party.

The Registrar had also written to UDP declining their intention to rebrand into Ukombozi People's Party through a letter that read, "Reference is made to your letter dated 10th August, 2026, objecting to the public notice allegedly issued by the United Democratic Party (UDP) regarding its proposed change of name to Ukombozi People's Party (UPP)," the ORPP letter reads in part.

Section 8(c) of the Political Parties Act, Cap.7D, provides that the Registrar may refuse an application for the registration of a political party if the name of the political party, the abbreviation of the name, the slogan or the symbol that it wishes to use for the Act so nearly resembles the name, slogan or symbol, or an abbreviation of the name of another political party registered under the Act or any other legal entity registered under any other written law.

Subsequently, this Office has not approved or authorised the use of the name "Ukombozi People's Party (UPP)" by the United Democratic Party (UDP).

This is the second setback Sifuna is facing after ORPP rejected the registration of the Linda Mwananchi party after another group moved fast and registered the Liberty National Democratic Alliance (LINDA) party, blocking Sifuna’s efforts to register the Linda Mwananchi party.

As Sifuna’s woes deepen, the deadline to submit the names and specimen signatures of their authorised persons is fast approaching, as it is scheduled to be October 15 this year for both the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the ORPP ahead of the general election.

Parties are also required to submit their election and nomination rules to the ORPP between September 28 and October 16, 2026. The Registrar is expected to certify the nomination rules by October 30, 2026, after which parties must submit the rules to the IEBC by November 6.

The submission of party membership lists to the ORPP will take place between March 16 and 23, 2027, with certification of the membership registers expected by March 23.

Kalonzo, however, denied claims that he was involved in a tussle with Sifuna, saying they had only reserved a name for a coalition party and not a political party, adding that if the ORPP would allow Sifuna’s team to rebrand, they would not object

“There is no quarrel between us and us; what we have is an Alliance. While the late Jirongo’s party want to rebrand, we would welcome that idea since our biggest issue is sending President William Ruto home in next year’s general election,” Kalonzo said.

Additionally, Kalonzo confirmed that the Opposition had amended the deed of agreement and the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance to suit the ever-changing political dynamics and to accommodate new political parties such as the Democratic Party and Umoja na Maendeleo Party, which were not part of the Azimio coalition.

He also confirmed that the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader had been proposed to succeed Uhuru, saying they were waiting for his formal acceptance.

“If he (Gachagua) is willing to accept the chairmanship position, he will succeed Uhuru, who has declared his interest in relinquishing his position as chairman of the Council; we shall also have co-chairmen,” he said.

Sources indicate Siaya Governor James Orengo will co-chair the Alliance Council along with Gachagua, while party leaders of the Opposition parties will be members of the council.

The Council will be mandated to discuss the Opposition’s flagbearer who will face Ruto in the ballot.

According to sources, Uhuru will not play any role in the rebranded Opposition to deny President William Ruto’s fodder to create a narrative that the next year’s general election was between him and his predecessor.

According to Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi, the Opposition was aware of Ruto’s narrative to advance a 41 against 1 narrative that pitted the Agikuyu community against others, but he was secretly dragging Uhuru’s name to advance the narrative.

“We know what he is doing: since he can't openly and directly advance the 41 against 1 narrative that his allies are publicly mooting for, he decided to hide behind Uhuru’s name whenever he visits other communities to secretly advance the narrative. To deny him a chance to advance his machination, we decided that Uhuru will have no role in the new Opposition lineup,” Muturi said.

In the proposed rebranding identity that was sent to the ORPP yesterday, the Ukombozi Alliance has settled for sky blue and navy blue as their colours, with logos of a man and a woman with shades of the Kenyan flag embedded on the woman’s forehead. The party’s slogan is Sauti moja Taifa moja.

Yesterday, the Kalonzo Presidential Advisory Council spent the better part of the day in a meeting in Athi River as they discussed strategies on a roadmap for next year’s general election. The council comprises distinguished technocrats who discussed manifesto drafting, among other key issues that Kalonzo would address if elected President.