Former ruling Jubilee Party has lodged a formal complaint with the Registrar of Political Parties, seeking to bar President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) from using the phrase “Mbele Pamoja” as part of its newly unveiled political slogan, arguing that the expression is its legally registered identity.
The dispute erupted just one day after UDA officially retired its 2022 campaign slogan ‘Kazi ni Kazi’ and replaced it with ‘Usawa ni Sawa – Mbele Pamoja’ in a notice dated Thursday, November 5, 2026.
Jubilee’s Secretary General, Moitalel Ole Kenta, responded the same day with a letter to the Registrar, asserting that “Mbele Pamoja” has been Jubilee’s official slogan since its 2021 rebrand and remains on the register of fully registered political parties.
“This development raises serious legal and regulatory concerns, particularly given that the expression in question is already officially registered and recognized as the slogan of Jubilee Party in the records maintained by your office,” Ole Kenta wrote in the complaint.
He further argued that a party’s slogan is not a mere catchphrase but “a recognized element of its registered identity within the statutory framework governing political parties in Kenya”.
Jubilee is asking the Registrar to formally confirm the registration status of “Mbele Pamoja,” issue a notice directing UDA to cease using the phrase pending determination of the complaint, and take administrative measures to protect the integrity of the political parties register.
The background to the row dates back to late 2021, when Jubilee – then still the ruling party under President Uhuru Kenyatta – undertook a deliberate rebrand to sever visual and rhetorical ties with Ruto, who had fallen out with Kenyatta and was preparing to launch UDA.
As part of that overhaul, Jubilee dropped the clasped-hands symbol and the yellow and black colours associated with Ruto’s former United Republican Party, replacing them with a dove and the motto “Mbele Pamoja” (Forward Together), a shift from the previous “Tuko Pamoja” (We Are Together).
The changes were presented to the Kenya Industrial Property Institute for trademark registration.
UDA’s adoption of the phrase is therefore seen by Jubilee as an appropriation of a political identifier it deliberately created to distinguish itself from Ruto’s political vehicle.
UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar announced the slogan change under Section 20(2) of the Political Parties Act, 2011, inviting party members to submit written representations on the decision.
The new slogan formalises a rallying call Ruto has used at public rallies in recent weeks, including a chant he led in Elgeyo Marakwet: “When I say UDA, you reply, ‘Usawa ni Sawa’. When I say ‘Usawa ni Sawa’, you reply, ‘Mbele Pamoja’”.
