Deputy President William Ruto’s Tanga tanga movement cannot be registered as a political party, acting registrar of political parties Anne Nderitu has said.
According to Nderitu, Section 8 of the Political Parties Act doesn’t allow such movements to be enlisted as a political party.
Nderitu on Friday told MPs at the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee during her vetting for the job that a party’s name should have a democratic meaning.
The law states that the registrar may refuse an application for the registration of a political party over unacceptable names or abbreviations.
This will be so if the name is obscene or offensive; already used by another political party or has symbol that is used by an already existing entity.
“Tangatanga, from the face value of the name, sounded offensive. We found it to be in violation of the Act. At the heat of the moment someone can identify, but consider 10 years from today when the word is not in the politics people get lost,” Nderitu said.
She said the ideal situation is where people register parties with unique identities “which can speak for generations.”
A few months ago, DP Ruto’s camp was dealt another blow after a businessman tried to register Jubilee Asili as a party, just days after the camp launched a Jubilee Asili center, an alternative venue for their meetings.
Jubilee Asili, which is associated with DP Ruto was rejected for not meeting the legal requirement of not resembling another registered political party.
In response to James Simiyu, who had applied to reserve and subsequently register the name as a political party, Ms Nderitu said the suggested name was not in compliance with section 8 of the Political Parties Act, 2011.
“The name does not meet legal requirement, so any application on the same name cannot be admitted,” Nderitu said.
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