Kenyan workers and peasants live in abject poverty while the elites indulge in the lives of plenty and opulence, displaying wealth with wasteful flamboyant capitalist consumerism. Even with the achievements brought by multiparty democracy, Kenya remains a pro-capitalist dictatorship, with a few rich people dominating the political and economic life of the country while the majority wallow in poverty. Access to the major means of production remains under the control of the few capitalist individuals and families and their foreign collaborators.
Things are worse in the rural area where I focus most of my political activities. I often interact with peasants, the rural poor, who have never heard of socialism or communism but are very much alive to the fact that the political system in Kenya is rotten with injustice and reaction.
When I engage in discussions with them about the ABCs of communism, their curiosity and interests are aroused by the very idea that communism could be the ultimate solution to the hopeless political system imposed upon them by the ruling class. All this also allows them to look at the world with more optimistic eyes and arouses their interest to join the struggle for progressive change.
The Kenyan masses do not fear communism; for how do you fear that which promises you a better life? It is the members of the capitalist and the middles classes that fear and hate communism and continue to spread senseless and toxic anti-communist propaganda aimed at hoodwinking the masses to maintain the present unjust status quo. Members of the middle class oppose communism even when they do not know what socialism and communism mean. The capitalists on the other hand consciously hate socialism for they know that it will take away all that does not belong to them. The hate is mutual as we also hate capitalism as it is the system of exploitation and oppression of person by person.
CPK is against capitalism because it is reactionary and hinders social progress and human freedom. Capitalism is the basic cause of tribalism, inequality, sexism, crime, and class division.
CPK is committed to the struggle for socialism in Kenya and the world as it is the system of true liberation and freedom of the exploited and oppressed and society. Just as our ancestors who resisted colonialism and fought for the national liberation of Kenya while making numerous and great sacrifices in the process, CPK will never relent in the struggle against capitalism and for socialism. Members of CPK have no alternative but to engage in the task that history has placed upon them as patriots and human beings. All conscious exploited and oppressed Kenyans too have no alternative but to unite and join this struggle if they are to live better than they are living today.
In 2013 when I started my political work in Nyanza, I found people that were full of hopelessness. The political violence was raw; people lived in fear of questioning the status quo dominated by populism, opportunism, sycophancy, tribalism, and personality cult. The musicians could not even use their artistic license to awaken their people. The local radios used to the only parrot about tribal leaders and singing praises to the status quo. Journalism and art had been compromised and reduced only to serve the reactionary tribal politicians.
However, today, thanks to the political engagements that my comrades and I regularly hold with the masses, and similar work is done by members of CPK study groups and cells in the region, I see renewed hope. Today I see the people, particularly young people, rejecting the reactionary politics of the local and national politicians and confronting the current status quo in a conscious engagement and struggle.
The rural poor, living in makeshift houses, with no running water, with no electricity, with no good schools for their children, and with hardly any healthy facilities, at least now know that their pain is caused by bad politics and governance. Increasingly, they are becoming aware that the capitalist political elites even from their ethnic group have betrayed them and will never save them. They are more and more aware of where to direct their anger. They have begun to realise that declarations of Nyanza as an individual's stronghold cannot and will not change their practical realities and that without rejecting the reactionary politics imposed upon them they will continue to sink deeper and deeper into poverty and underdevelopment.
The Kenyan masses are increasingly finding out that the so-called multiparty elections dominated by drama, corruption, tribalism, media propaganda, violence, and rigging are a gimmick and cannot be depended upon to liberate the poor, exploited, and oppressed. The regular elections are used by the ruling class of Kenya to perpetuate their capitalist system in power. The masses are increasingly understanding all this. They are also realising that the manifestos of the political parties of the ruling class are populist lies and propaganda calculated to convince the masses to vote for their exploiters and oppressors. Many times the Kenyan print and electronic media are compromised to popularise the politics of the exploiters and oppressors.
Now the ruling elites are imposing amendments on the constitution to serve their interests through the politics of Handshake and the so-called Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) initiated by two individuals who act as if Kenya belongs to the two of them, their families, friends, and collaborators. It is becoming more and more clear that the most reactionary members of the ruling class will use all means possible to try and roll back the progressive gains achieved by Kenyans hitherto through hard struggle. Only the conscious and united struggle of Kenyans throughout the country will consolidate and build upon the progressive gains in our Constitution.
Every time my political work takes me to the poor neighbourhoods, I listen to our people's dreams; they are full of disappointments but also hope; they want to change their lives and that of their neighbours. They probably do not know how, but by the time we get to talk about our cause, they own it fully, and they find meaning that a radical change in the form of a revolution is what is required. It is their only hope. For according to the capitalist class, the poor should not have any power or any say in the country affairs.
The Communist Party of Kenya leads the masses to be aware that even though we say that Kenya is thirsty for socialism, socialism cannot be achieved by simply good wishes, dreams, or by only imagining a better world. Such desires are called utopian socialism. Socialism will be brought about by a conscious revolutionary organisation and struggle. It is scientific socialism, the doctrine of class struggle, which is our compass that points the direction to our victory. Marxist Socialism! Scientific socialism! The Communist Party of Kenya's study circles are busy tempering and cultivating a solid revolutionary social force to advance the class struggle in Kenya under scientific socialism. We invite all Kenyans that desire a better life to join our study circles and struggle to advance our revolution. Long live the Struggle for Socialism!
By Odhiambo Ojwang’