NAIROBI, Kenya – The Ukombozi Alliance can resume its bid for official registration after the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal lifted orders that had barred the Registrar of Political Parties from proceeding with the process.
The decision, delivered on Thursday, October 29, removes an immediate legal obstacle facing the political outfit associated with Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, but does not amount to confirmation that the alliance has been fully registered.
In a statement issued by Kalonzo’s Presidential Secretariat, the tribunal was said to have discharged its earlier suspension orders, allowing the Registrar to proceed in accordance with the Political Parties Act and other applicable laws.
“The Registrar of Political Parties is accordingly at liberty to proceed with and conclude the registration of The Ukombozi Alliance in accordance with the Political Parties Act and all other applicable laws,” the statement said.
The case, filed as PPDT/E007/2026, involved Allan Jayuga Akivaga, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties and Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya.
Dispute over the Ukombozi name
The registration process was halted on October 13 after Akivaga challenged the reservation of the proposed name, arguing that an earlier registration application involving the Ukombozi People’s Party had not been properly concluded.
The tribunal’s interim orders restrained the Registrar from approving, registering or gazetting Wiper under the name The Ukombozi Alliance while the dispute was pending.
The disagreement centres on competing claims involving the name “Ukombozi” and the process through which political party names are reserved and registered.
The latest decision removes the suspension that had prevented further administrative action. However, the statement from Kalonzo’s secretariat did not detail the tribunal’s reasoning for discharging the orders or clarify whether any issues in the underlying dispute remain unresolved.
What happens next?
The Registrar of Political Parties can now continue processing the alliance’s registration, subject to the applicable legal requirements.
The distinction is significant: lifting an interim order allows the process to move forward, but does not itself establish that all statutory conditions for registration have been met.
The outcome is an important procedural development for Kalonzo’s political camp as it seeks to advance The Ukombozi Alliance as a platform ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The alliance emerged from efforts to reorganise the Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya Coalition under a new political identity. Its proposed name has become the subject of a legal dispute involving the reservation of competing political party names.
