NAIROBI, Kenya — A dispute over who has the right to use the name “Ukombozi Alliance” has opened a fresh rift within Kenya’s opposition, after Kalonzo Musyoka’s rebranding of the Azimio la Umoja coalition into the Ukombozi Alliance appeared to derail a rival plan by allies of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna to use the same identity for his anticipated 2027 presidential vehicle.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka announced the rebrand on 21 September, telling reporters at Nairobi’s SKM Command Centre: “The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition has this day, September 21, 2026, unanimously agreed to rebrand and change the name to Ukombozi Alliance.” The new alliance has adopted the slogan “One Term, One Team, One Coalition.”
The announcement complicated a separate effort, led by Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, to rename the United Democratic Party (UDP) as the Ukombozi People’s Party (UPP) — a vehicle widely seen as Sifuna’s likely platform for the 2027 race.
In a letter dated 8 September, Registrar of Political Parties John Cox Lorionokou informed UDP that his office had not approved or authorised the proposed name, citing its similarity to The Ukombozi Alliance, which the registrar’s office said had been reserved by a different applicant on 20 July 2026.
UPP Secretary-General Allan Jayuga Akivaga has disputed that account, saying his party’s claim to the name predates both the Ukombozi Alliance reservation and Kalonzo’s rebrand. He has pointed to a letter dated 13 March 2025, in which the ORPP reportedly reserved the name “Ukombozi People’s Party” in his favour and gave him 90 days to complete the registration process.
“They want to frustrate us because they feel it is aligned to some other entity. The only way to find out is to check with the ORPP,” Akivaga said, adding that the registrar had previously cleared the party to proceed with registration, including its symbols and slogans, and that the reservation remained active.
UPP has since formally petitioned the ORPP to revoke the Ukombozi Alliance name and allow its own registration to resume.
Kalonzo’s allies have rejected any suggestion that the Ukombozi Alliance name was taken from Sifuna’s camp. DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa said the alliance’s name had been formally approved well before UDP’s rebrand plan became public.
“The name has already been approved by the Registrar of Political Parties. We made the request to reserve The Ukombozi Alliance, way before the plan to rebrand [UDP] to Ukombozi People’s Party,” Wamalwa said.
Wiper Patriotic Front spokesperson Ndegwa Njiru went further, arguing that Kalonzo had long used the related phrase “Komboa Kenya” in his political messaging and challenging critics to produce evidence that the name had been copied from Sifuna’s project. “I challenge anyone with evidence to the contrary to produce it,” Njiru said.
The Ukombozi dispute is the second time in recent weeks that a party identity linked to Sifuna’s camp has slipped from his grasp. Speculation had earlier centred on the Mwananchi Party as a possible vehicle for Sifuna, given its association with Embakasi East MP and Nairobi gubernatorial aspirant Babu Owino, a prominent figure in the Linda Mwananchi movement.
Reported efforts to persuade Owino to hand over the party’s leadership to Sifuna did not succeed, and Owino went on to launch the Mwananchi Party under his own leadership.
At the Ukombozi Alliance’s unveiling, Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa appeared to reference both episodes directly in a pointed message aimed at Sifuna.
“Niko na ujumbe kwa Sifuna. Wewe umeanza kuchezwa, ulikuwa unafikiri uko na marafiki. Ulikuwa unasema utazindua chama cha Ukombozi, imechukuliwa na Kalonzo. Ukasema unazindua chama cha Mwananchi, imeenda na Babu Owino” — telling Sifuna he was being outmanoeuvred, having lost both the Ukombozi and Mwananchi names to rivals he had considered allies, Barasa said.
Adding to the sense of division, the Ukombozi Alliance’s launch drew the attendance of two figures associated with Sifuna’s own Linda Mwananchi movement: Siaya Governor James Orengo and Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, who also serves as Secretary-General of the renamed coalition. Their presence at a rival launch has drawn scrutiny from Sifuna’s allies, though neither has publicly explained their attendance in detail.
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Other Sifuna associates have distanced themselves from the controversy. Kabuchai MP Majimbo Kalasinga said he was not privy to details of Sifuna’s planned party launch. “I don’t know the party and the details of the launch since there is also a budget involved. You can ask Sifuna himself. I don’t want to be seen opposing him or saying what he has not said,” Kalasinga said.
Natembeya has continued to signal that Sifuna’s political vehicle will still be unveiled despite the setback. “In the next three weeks, expect a white smoke, and nobody will play with us again,” he said.
Sifuna is expected to formally launch his platform on 3 October, ahead of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission deadlines of 15 and 30 October that govern party registration ahead of the 2027 race.
Whether that launch proceeds under the Ukombozi name, an alternative, or a resolution brokered through the ORPP remains unresolved, with the registrar’s office yet to issue a final determination on the competing claims.
