Presented by the Communist Party of Kenya (CPK)

October 2024

Comrades, distinguished participants, and friends of the global anti-imperialist struggle,

We address this conference with great urgency and a heavy heart today. As we gather here under the banner of the World Anti-Imperialist Platform, the people of Kenya are enduring the violent lash of a regime that has fully embraced fascism. We come before you to lay bare the atrocities of the Kenyan state under the leadership of William Ruto—an agent of Western imperialism, whose administration serves as a willing instrument of neoliberal destruction.

President Ruto’s government is no longer a sovereign entity working for the people. It has become a puppet of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other global capitalist institutions, enforcing anti-people policies with brutality. The most glaring example of this betrayal was the imposition of the IMF-backed Finance Bill 2024—a bill that deepens economic misery through regressive taxation and austerity, effectively enslaving the working class and youth under the dictates of global capital.

When the brave youth of our nation, led by the Gen Z generation, rose peacefully to reject this Finance Bill, they were met not with dialogue but with unrelenting state terror. This Gen Z uprising, or what we now call the Gen Z Social Explosion, revealed the true character of the Ruto regime: a fascist state that will stop at nothing to crush dissent. The only “crime” of these young protesters was their bold rejection of neoliberalism and imperialism—ideologies that have impoverished millions in Kenya and across the continent.

State Violence and Militarization

The state responded to the peaceful protests with unrestrained violence. The government unleashed both conventional security forces—the police and military—and illegal police squads operating as state-sanctioned militias. These unlawful units, acting with impunity, were further reinforced by paramilitary forces from Sudan and elite special forces from Uganda. Their objective was not only to suppress the uprising but to exterminate and torture those who dared to challenge the regime’s imperialist project.

Over 78 young Kenyans were brutally murdered by the state, martyred for standing on the side of justice and resisting economic exploitation. Hundreds more were abducted, detained without trial, and disappeared in acts of extrajudicial terror. Families still search for their loved ones, hoping for answers while fearing the worst. These crimes reveal the evolution of Kenya into a fascist state—where violence, militarization, and repression replace governance, and where power serves only the interests of imperialism.

A Call to Honor and Resist

We, the Communist Party of Kenya, stood with the Gen Z protesters on the frontlines of this uprising, drawing upon our revolutionary tradition of struggle against capitalism, imperialism, and state oppression. The martyrs of the Gen Z Social Explosion are our heroes. Their sacrifice will not be in vain. We honour them today—not as victims, but as fighters who, with their lives, have exposed the rotten core of neoliberalism and its puppets.

The struggle they began is far from over. Their blood calls upon us to continue the fight for national sovereignty, economic liberation, and the dismantling of imperialist structures that hold our people hostage. The 78 martyrs are a symbol of resistance for all oppressed peoples, and their memory strengthens our resolve to achieve a future free from tyranny and exploitation.

Call for Solidarity

As part of the World Anti-Imperialist Platform, we appeal to all of you here today: stand with us. Stand with the youth of Kenya. Stand against the fascist Ruto regime and the global forces of neoliberalism. We call upon every organization present to append your signatures to this statement in solidarity with the martyrs of the Gen Z uprising and in defence of Kenya’s right to self-determination.

The fight against imperialism is a collective struggle, and our victory lies in our unity. Let this statement be a weapon of solidarity and defiance, a declaration that the fascistization of the Kenyan state will not go unchallenged. Together, we will honour the martyrs by advancing their cause—until victory is ours and a new dawn of freedom emerges, not only in Kenya but across Africa and the world.

In memory of the 78 martyrs of the Gen Z Social Explosion,

In solidarity with all oppressed peoples,

In defiance of imperialism and fascism

Signed:

The Communist Party of Kenya

Open to signatures from other WAP members