A fresh fight has erupted over the Ukombozi name, hours after the Azimio la Umoja coalition unveiled Ukombozi Alliance as its new political identity.
The Ukombozi People’s Party, associated with Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, has written to the Registrar of Political Parties demanding the immediate revocation of the name adopted by the Kalonzo’s opposition coalition and the resumption of its own registration process.
The party claims it reserved the Ukombozi name in March last year before later writing to the Registrar to discontinue its registration process.
Party Secretary-General Allan Akivaga says the party was the first to secure the name and has accused the Registrar’s office of acting in bad faith by allowing another political formation to adopt it.
“We came to learn that they told UDP they cannot rebrand because the name was reserved by Azimio Alliance, which was launched by Kalonzo Musyoka yesterday,” Akivaga said.
The dispute has opened a new front in the opposition camp, pitting Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper Patriotic Front against the Linda Mwananchi camp associated with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.
The Ukombozi People’s Party had increasingly been viewed as a possible political vehicle for Sifuna as he races to establish his own platform ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.
The latest dispute now threatens to complicate efforts by opposition leaders to consolidate under the newly unveiled Ukombozi Alliance.
