Embakasi East MP Babu Owino\u2019s Mwananchi Party (TMP) has defended the timing of its formation and registration following criticism over its dispute with the Linda Mwananchi Movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement on Thursday, said the party said its registration and recognition by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) predated the formation of Linda Mwananchi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TMP said leaders of the Linda Mwananchi Movement visited the ORPP on 4 August 2026 to seek clarification on the status of their application and the recognition of the Linda Mwananchi name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The party said this happened while its own registration and recognition process was under way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TMP also said it had previously been known as the Muungano Party before officially changing its name on 10 September 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It is therefore important that the events surrounding the matter are understood within their proper chronology,” the party said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute follows the ORPP’s decision not to recognise the Linda Mwananchi Movement after the name was found to correspond with that of TMP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Owino has also sought to explain when he decided to establish his own political party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said his decision dates back to 10 February 2025, when ODM leaders gathered at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Owino said he had initially understood the event to be a prayer meeting linked to the late opposition leader Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Commission chairmanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, he said, he found ODM leaders endorsing Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja for a second term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“From that day, because I knew that ODM would never give me a chance to contest as Governor of Nairobi, I decided that I would have my own political party,” Owino said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said he subsequently made three unsuccessful attempts to register a political party before succeeding on his fourth attempt earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“At the fourth attempt, I managed to get a party, early this year. That is long before Linda Mwananchi came into being,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Owino said the Linda Mwananchi Movement was formed later, by which time he was already pursuing the establishment of his own political vehicle.
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Embakasi East MP Babu Owino\u2019s Mwananchi Party (TMP) has defended the timing of its formation and registration following criticism over its dispute with the Linda Mwananchi Movement. In a statement on Thursday, said the party said its registration and recognition by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) predated the formation of Linda […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n