The 2nd Party Congress of the Communist Party of Kenya (CPM-K) was held from July 16 to 17 at The United Kenya Club Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.
At the entrance of the outdoor event hall, portraits of Pan-African symbol Amílcar Cabral and Vladimir Lenin were displayed. The congress venue was packed with over 100 party leaders, members, international delegations, and solidarity figures from the region.
The congress was attended by international delegations from across Africa and beyond, including Pan-Africanism Today (PAT), the South African Communist Party (SACP), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the Danish Communist Party, the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist, CPGB-ML), the American Communist Party, and the German Communist Party. Representing the World Anti-Imperialist Platform, Lee Sang-hun, the president of People’s Democracy Party (PDP) also participated.
The congress opened with a collective rendition of the “Internationale.”
In his opening address, the National chairperson of CPK said, “Our struggle is one to break the shackles of imperialism and capitalism. We have a mission to lead the party into a new era. The Communist Party of Kenya embodies the demands of the Kenyan people and must combat opportunism. Dedan Kimathi symbolizes the national democratic revolution that we have yet to complete. We must advance in the spirit of this freedom fighter, as Kimathi’s struggle is not over and must be carried forward by us.”
International organizations delivered solidarity messages.
Joti Brar, the Vice chair of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist), said, “While the Kenyan people achieved a great victory in the national-liberation struggle of the 1950s, ejecting the British overlords and their settler-colonial regime at the point of a gun, the intervention of US imperialism kept Kenya in financial subjection as a ‘sphere of influence’ for the colonial looters. White faces in the government offices were replaced with black ones, British exploiters took second place to American ones, but the essential colonial relationship was reinforced rather than being dismantled and the fruits of their liberation struggle were denied to the Kenyan masses.”
“Truly, our struggle is one, and our desire for mutual cooperation in this struggle is no mere verbal flourish. We take to heart the profound words of Comrade Lenin, who taught us that the revolutionary movement in the imperialist countries is a sham and a fraud if it is not closely connected to the movement for liberation in the colonial countries,” she added.
The Communist party of Benin, in their solidarity message, wrote “
The war taking place in the Sahel and which is now extending to coastal countries such as our country, Benin, Togo, is in no way a war of “terrorists” or “jihadists”. The war that colonial France is waging in the Sahel is only the unfolding of a NATO Plan of which France is only the executor, with episodes such as the assassination of the pan-Africanist Gaddafi and the destruction of the Libyan sanctuary providing access to the Sahel.”
Also, “The revolts of the upper layer of our armies that result in military putsches demanding here and there the departure of NATO troops must be understood in this sense. The Marxist- Leninist parties must understand this situation in order to be able to play their role as scouts of the masses,” they emphasized.
The Pole of Communist Revival in France sent the solidarity message to celebrate the 2nd congress of CPK, saying “The CPK, armed with the marxist-leninist scientific ideology, is the tool the kenyan people need to put down the IMF/Ruto government and build a truly independent Kenya. The fall of the “best non-NATO ally”, weakening the hegemonic imperialism led by the USA, will also be a victory for all the oppressed people and workers of the world.”
They said, “We are looking forward to deepen the political relations between our parties we started in Dakar.”
The delegation from the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) remarked that “the US led West and its imperialist domination of the world is fast coming to an end, and, like all dying imperialist hegemonies, the West will not go down without a fight.”
He analyzed the African situation, saying “We also note the sharpening class contradictions and rising tide of mass sentiment in Africa for decolonisation beyond the first wave of independence, and demands for the economic and political unity of Africa.
Also, “The flames of anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist and anti-colonial energies and demonstrations in Kenya can shine on the rest of the African continent and throughout the world,” he stressed.
After the congress, a media briefing was held, where newly elected General Secretary Booker Omole officially announced the party’s name change from the Communist Party of Kenya (CPK) to the Communist Party of Kenya-Marxist (CPM-K).
On the second day, international delegations and party members attended the party congress report event. The session began with the “Internationale” and included a cultural performance featuring rhythmic dances by CPM-K members, receiving enthusiastic applause.
Participants visited Kimathi Street, home to the statue of revolutionary leader Dedan Kimathi, and the grave of Kenyan independence activist Pio Gama Pinto.
The congress concluded with a festival attended local citizens alongside CPM-K members. The music festival was held at a location where Kenyan youth had been killed by the William Ruto regime, symbolizing the people’s resilience and solidarity.
The festival emphasized that the revolutionary flames of Kenya’s anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist movements would inspire not just Africa but the entire world.
The Solidarity message of the World Anti-imperialist Platform is as below:
The Communist Party of Kenya’s righteous anti-imperialist struggle will be victorious
We warmly congratulate the Communist Party of Kenya on its 2nd Congress. The mission of the Communist Party of Kenya is confirmed by the critical situation at home and abroad. The current international situation can be summarized as the storm of World War 3 unleashed by the imperialist camp blowing from Eastern Europe to Western Asia (the Middle East), then to East Asia and the Western Pacific. The US-NATO countries are trying to lift the ban on homegrown weapons hitting the Russian mainland in order to expand the war in Ukraine into Eastern Europe. Israeli Zionist forces have killed the leaders and key commanders of Hamas and Hezbollah, and following their invasion and massacres in Palestine, have extended their aggression to Lebanon, inevitably triggering the 5th war in Western Asia. The aggressive military exercises and military blocs of the US-Western Pacific pro-US countries against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and People’s Republic of China (PRC) are important signs of the impending war in East Asia and even the Western Pacific.
We condemn in the strongest terms the genocide and fascist violence of the William Ruto regime in Kenya. We are outraged that at least 345 Kenyans, especially youth, have lost their lives as of August this year due to the Ruto regime’s heinous terrorist campaign of abductions, torture and massacres. The Ruto regime affirms that fascist atrocities are not different in different times and nationalities. While fascism was a variant of imperialism in World War 2, it is the mainstay of imperialism in the current World War 3. This is clearly seen through the fascist power in Kenya and the “Republic of Korea (ROK)”.
In May, the US imperialist powers designated Kenya as a non-NATO ally and called it “Kenya is one of the United States Government’s top counterterrorism and security partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and the designation will demonstrate that the United States sees African contributions to global peace and security” blatantly demonstrating their intention to use Kenya under the Ruto regime as a base for maintaining hegemony in Africa. In September, Michael Langley, Commander of US Africa Command, visited Kenya and promised to increase “cooperation” with the Kenya Defence Forces and build a strong relationship. As we know, the Kenya Defence Forces is a fascist group that has led the massacre and repression of the struggling Kenyan people. Meanwhile, the imperialist puppet Ruto is viciously implementing anti-people policies on the side of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and transnational capital. He has been ‘leasing’ the Kenya Defence Forces to foreign countries, selling off assets, plundering the future of the Kenyan people, and handing it over to the imperialist powers.
Like Ruto, Yoon Seok-yeol of the “ROK” is a fascist and imperialist. Yoon has formed an invasive military bloc, “Northeast Asia version of NATO”, with the US. and Japanese imperialist powers, and has been conducting military exercises with the US and Japanese imperialist troops around the Korean Peninsula. Above all, he is following the orders of the U.S. imperialist invaders to provoke a local war by targeting the Korean peninsula and to viciously suppress progressive forces and the struggling people. The fascist puppet of US imperialism, Yoon Seok-yeol, is now trying to manipulate a series of events leading to local wars, martial law, and the war in “ROK” as an all-out war on the Korean Peninsula. On August 30, the search and seizure against the People’s Democracy Party which is the only revolutionary party in the “ROK,” is a decisive sign that Yun is preparing for martial law and a pro-state coup.
The heroic struggle of the Communist Party of Kenya against the fascist Ruto and the imperialist invading forces behind them powerfully inspires the progressive forces in the world. The Kenyan people, who have risen up in struggle against the Ruto regime, which is in the service of transnational capital and imperialist forces and is hell-bent on exploiting the people, are unflinchingly waging a just struggle against the genocidal crimes of the fascist authorities. The Communist Party of Kenya is at the forefront of the anti-imperialist and antifascist struggle, leading the people along a scientific and revolutionary path to advance the construction of a new society owned by the people.
The people of Kenya finally won liberation and independence in 1963 as a result of the fierce liberation struggle against British imperialism, and since then they have been struggling for true democracy against the pro-imperialist fascist power, pushing history forward. As the history of struggles for liberation and self-determination against imperialism shows, the victory of the Kenyan people in their anti-imperialist struggle today is certain.
The World Anti-Imperialist Platform, launched in October 2022 in Paris, has been traversing continents, striving to achieve its three goals: strengthening the anti-imperialist struggle, intensifying ideological warfare against pro-imperialist and opportunist ideologies, and reinforcing the communist movement. The Platform actively engaged in solidarity with the Communist Party of Kenya and other revolutionary parties in Africa to strengthen and expand the anti-imperialist front.
The World Anti-Imperialist Platform and the revolutionary parties and organizations in Africa reaffirmed the legitimacy and scientific validity of the strategic integration of Pan-Africanism and anti-imperialism at the 7th Anti-Imperialist International Conference held in Dakar, Senegal, from October 25 to 27, 2024. As stated in the conference’s conclusion, delegates from 35 countries around the world once again recognized ‘the need to combine militant Pan-Africanism with internationalism and the importance of the anti-imperialist and popular orientation of Pan-Africanism.’ Only Pan-Africanism, led by the revolutionary party of the working class, can achieve final victory by advancing along the revolutionary path of national liberation, class liberation, and human emancipation. Just as World War 1 and World War 2 weakened the imperialist camp, enabling the wave of independence and liberation in Africa during the 1950s and 1960s, World War 3—expected to decisively weaken the imperialist camp—should serve as a turning point for the African people to usher in a new era of great revolutionary upsurge.
Additionally, at the Dakar Anti-Imperialist International Conference, the Platform unanimously adopted, with resounding applause, the anti-imperialist and anti-fascist statement proposed by the Communist Party of Kenya. We expressed enthusiastic support for Comrade Booker Omole, representing the Communist Party of Kenya, who emphasized: “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.”
We are confident that the joint events and struggles of the Platform with the African people, which began in West Africa’s Senegal, will advance and leap forward in East Africa’s Kenya. The Platform will stand firmly united with the militant and revolutionary comrades of Africa, including the Communist Party of Kenya, to forge a new era of independence and liberation.”
It is just and inevitable that imperialism and fascism will be overthrown through the united struggle of the world’s anti-imperialist forces. The liberation struggle for justice and the revolutionary fight for truth, carried out by the united people under the leadership of the Communist Party of Kenya is destined to triumph.
Workers’ of the World, Unite!
The people, united, will never be defeated!
The World Anti-imperialist Platform
