Linda Mwananchi’s bid to emerge as a formidable opposition force ahead of the 2027 General Election is facing an early test, with a bitter dispute over its political vehicle exposing deepening divisions among some of the politicians behind the movement.
The disagreement burst into the open on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, after Saboti MP Caleb Amisi confirmed that he had been removed from Linda Mwananchi’s WhatsApp groups following disagreements over the political party that should be used to propel the movement into the 2027 elections.
Amisi, who leads the People’s Renaissance Movement (PRM), made the revelation while responding to Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, who has publicly raised concerns over the failure of Linda Mwananchi to use his political party as its electoral vehicle.
“I knew one day the truth would come out. I am now vindicated. Thank you, @HEBabuOwino, for confirming that the PM Party was the party formed to propel Linda Mwananchi,” Amisi said.
He went further, accusing unnamed individuals within the movement of derailing the original political arrangement and targeting him because of his own party.
“But greedy individuals joined LM, messed up Sifuna, removed me from WhatsApp groups of LM, and branded my party a mole and wheelbarrow so that people can shun it,” Amisi said.
The Saboti MP ended his statement by insisting that the broader political project would continue despite the internal disagreements.
“God of Caleb is overworking! No weapon formed against our generational call for duty shall prosper! Our fourth liberation must be won no matter what!” he said.
The remarks have transformed what had appeared to be a disagreement between individual politicians into a bigger question over the ownership and direction of Linda Mwananchi.
At the heart of the dispute is a critical 2027 question: Which political party will carry Linda Mwananchi candidates to the ballot?
Babu Owino has maintained that his party was formed before Linda Mwananchi came into existence and that there was an earlier understanding that it would serve as the movement’s political vehicle.
The Embakasi East MP has expressed frustration that other parties, including the Ukombozi People’s Movement, now appear to be receiving greater attention within Linda Mwananchi despite the alleged earlier agreement.
His position has exposed a potentially difficult political equation for the movement. While leaders may agree on the need for a new opposition force, they appear to have competing interests over the party structures that will ultimately control nominations and candidates.
The disagreement has also placed Amisi under renewed scrutiny.
Bumula MP Jack Wamboka recently accused the Saboti legislator of frustrating Linda Mwananchi’s activities and questioned his intentions after Amisi increasingly distanced himself from some of the movement’s activities.
Wamboka questioned why Amisi had apparently encountered fewer difficulties in registering his own political party while Linda Mwananchi was facing challenges establishing itself as an electoral outfit.
The accusations have fuelled claims that Amisi could be working against the movement, allegations he has rejected.
Amisi’s latest statement suggests that the disagreement is instead rooted in a battle over the movement’s original political direction.
That battle could have major consequences as the 2027 election approaches.
Linda Mwananchi is attempting to position itself as a vehicle for a new generation of political leaders and has attracted significant attention through its mobilisation activities. But the emerging party dispute threatens to undermine its central message if leaders cannot agree on the political machinery through which their candidates will contest elections.
The irony is increasingly difficult to ignore.
A movement presenting itself as a vehicle for Kenya’s “fourth liberation” is now facing an internal fight over the very political vehicle that could deliver its candidates to power.
The dispute therefore raises a bigger question than whether Amisi, Babu or Wamboka is right.
Who actually controls Linda Mwananchi’s 2027 political project?
And perhaps more importantly, can the movement resolve its battle over the electoral vehicle before the same disagreement spreads to the more explosive questions of presidential leadership, parliamentary nominations and the distribution of political power?
For now, the fight over the party is offering the first major indication that Linda Mwananchi’s biggest challenge before 2027 may not come from its political opponents.
It could come from within.
