Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi Movement opts for closed-door NDC,media barred

NAIROBI,Kenya Nov 12 – The Linda Mwananchi Movement’s (LMM) National Delegates Conference (NDC) scheduled for Friday, November 13, will be a closed-door meeting, with the media barred from covering the proceedings.

Linda Mwananchi Movement Head of Communication Pauline Njoroge confirmed that journalists would not be allowed to cover the conference, which is expected to formalise the political outfit’s transition from The Equitable Party (TEP) to the Linda Mwananchi Movement.

“Kindly note that tomorrow’s NDC will be a closed-door meeting, with no media coverage,” Njoroge said.

The decision means the conference will proceed as an internal party affair, with participation restricted to designated delegates drawn from members registered under TEP by the time the NDC notice was published.

The venue for the National Delegates Conference has not been made public, with the movement keeping details of the location undisclosed ahead of Friday’s meeting. In a separate notice to supporters, the movement said each county had been allocated a specific number of delegates based on its registered membership, warning that the allocations must be strictly observed.

The party described the gathering as a statutory meeting required to fulfil the legal requirements governing its establishment and transition.

“We ask for your understanding and cooperation as we undertake this important process to approve the party’s name change and ratify other decisions necessary to formalise our transition to the Linda Mwananchi Movement (LMM),” the notice stated.

The conference is expected to approve the proposed change of the party’s name and ratify other resolutions necessary to complete the transition.

The meeting comes after the movement faced legal challenges at the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT), where members sought to stop the planned conference over alleged irregularities in the party’s leadership appointments, delegate selection and internal decision-making processes.

One of the petitions, filed by party member Emmanuel Willyngtone Khamala, challenged the manner in which the party’s leadership was constituted, arguing that officials had been appointed without elections or adequate involvement of registered members.

Khamala also questioned the legitimacy of delegates expected to attend the conference, arguing that the party had not conducted grassroots elections to establish branch and county structures from which legitimate delegates could be selected.

He sought orders suspending the November 13 meeting pending the hearing and determination of his complaint.

The dispute also touched on the proposed leadership of the movement, with the petitioner challenging the process through which Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and other officials were positioned to take up party roles.

The tribunal’s dismissal of the petition seeking to block the NDC cleared the way for the conference to proceed as scheduled, dealing a setback to efforts to halt the party’s transition.

The legal challenges had placed the proposed transformation of TEP under scrutiny, particularly over whether the party had complied with its constitution and the Political Parties Act in making leadership changes and preparing for the delegates’ meeting.

During the movement’s launch on October 30, Sifuna was unveiled as the proposed party leader, with former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza, former Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo and Mavoko MP Patrick Makau named as his proposed deputies.

Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi was proposed as chairperson, while Suba South MP Caroli Omondi was named secretary-general, with Njoroge proposed as his deputy.

Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya was also unveiled as the head of the movement’s presidential campaign.

The proposed appointments are among the decisions expected to be considered and ratified by delegates at Friday’s conference.

The transition comes as Sifuna and his allies seek to consolidate their political platform ahead of the 2027 General Election, amid wider political realignments within the opposition.