By Billy Mijungu
The formation of Linda Mwananchi as the first stage was perhaps the clearest and easiest. All and sundry came together: the Jubilee support base, mainly from Kisii; the Wiper support base, largely from Ukambani; and the ODM splinter groups from Nyanza, Nairobi and Western Kenya. It was an easy and impressive run that covered about twenty counties.
Then came Storming—and, as expected, it has been severe.
There have been disagreements over how to run a unified political party, largely because of competing interests. The result has been the emergence of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Equitable Party, the Mwananchi Party, Jubilee and Wiper, each retaining its distinct identity.
While all continue to associate with the broader Linda Mwananchi formation, the threat of remaining stuck at Stage Two has been complicated by the decision to rename one outfit, together with part of the faction, as the Linda Mwananchi Movement Party.
The outcome could take one of two paths.
Either the other outfits abandon the unity project and submit to a Linda Mwananchi Movement-dominated arrangement, or the parties negotiate genuine unity under a coalition framework that allows the formation to progress to the third stage.
Otherwise, Linda Mwananchi risks dying at the Storming stage.
The third stage is Norming, where the group develops an operational charter, establishes shared rules, builds trust and manages expectations in preparation for facing elections under the fourth stage—Performing.
Finally comes the fifth stage, Adjourning, when the group’s original purpose is fulfilled and its future becomes subject to changing circumstances, interests and political realities.
For Linda Mwananchi, the critical question is therefore not whether the coalition can attract support. It is whether its constituent parties can overcome the Storming stage, agree on the rules of engagement, and build a structure strong enough to enter the Performing stage as a united political force.
The choice is theirs: Norming, or remaining stuck in Storming.
