Post by Onyango Oloo on Oct 4, 2017 0:44:28 GMT 3
This is PART TWO of my digital essay.
A few days ago, I loudly wondered whether there was in fact a “revolutionary situation.” obtaining in Kenya.
At the time, I responded to my own question saying cryptically, “Yes”and “No.”
The negative part of my answer pointed out that while OBJECTIVELY, it appeared as if the conditions pointed to one of the hallmarks of a revolutionary situation but that unfortunately the SUBJECTIVE factor was absent.
I pointed out that unlike South Africa, Kenya did not have the equivalent of the South African Communist Party nor its stalwarts of the calibre of Chris Hani or Joe Slovo.
Some people have jumped to the conclusion that, given my obvious Marxist-Leninist inclinations, I was mooting for a SOCIALIST revolution.
This was a mistaken notion on the part of those readers of mine.
What is on the cards in Kenya TODAY is a National Democratic Revolution.
By which I mean what?
It is important to recognize that the BIGGEST OBSTACLE standing before Kenyans and true independence, genuine democracy and the onset of ongoing social liberations remains the NEO-COLONIAL STATE and its local comprador bourgeois nyapara caretakers.
Flowing from the above, Kenyans must somehow SMASH the existing neo-colonial state and set up a NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC STATE in this particular country in East Africa.
This will take a major shift in class, social and political relations in Kenya because it will entail a situation where the vast majority of the wananchi turn the tables on the comprador bourgeois clique.
Speaking simply and bluntly, Kenyans need a REVOLUTION of a NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC character to achieve our objective of national independence, national democracy and national and social liberation.
We are fighting for a National Democratic Revolution in Kenya.
The “National” obviously refers to the fact that we can not fight for the liberation of Turkanaland, Masaailand, Luoland, Mulembe Country, Gikuyuland, Pwani, northern Kenya and Gusiiland separately in isolation and to the exclusion of other parts of Kenya. Neither can we fight for the tribal or regional hegemony of one part of Kenyan society to the exclusion of other parts. We are fighting
for the whole of Kenya.
The “Democratic” aspect defines the main content of our struggles. We are deepening the spaces to be occupied by the popular social actors and here we mean the social forces: the workers, the small farmers, the poor, the women, the youth and all the wananchi who have been so far marginalized from the political mainstream.
The “Revolution” aspect underscores the need to go beyond PIECEMEAL REFORMS. We need a fundamental shift and reorganization of Kenyan society. At this point the rallying cry should be to DEFEND AND DEEPEN THE 2010 CONSTITUTION.
Not ALL revolutions are VIOLENT.
A revolution is simply a moment or process in time and space where one group of rulers (not individuals but social groups and/or classes) are replaced in terms of political power by another, previously marginalized social group/class/alliances of various classes who then proceed to undertake a fundamental restructuring of that society.
It flows from this definition that a revolution is not an elitist conspiracy but a dramatic moment in history when millions and millions of ordinary wananchi are galvanized by a well-organized political and social movement with a strong leadership achieve ownership and immediate agency in enacting new pathways to the future.
Neither are we talking of a coup d'état or other short cuts to power.
If anything, it is Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto and the Jubilee gang who have tried imposing a coup-not in the classic military sense- but nevertheless using state bureaucracy and the discredited IEBC to impose their rule on the Kenyan people. That is why Kenyans and the progressive world in general breathed a sigh of relief when the solomonic Supreme Court declared that Uhuru Kenyatta was not validly elected at the August 8th elections.
We have gone through two elections since the passage of the 2010 Constitution which introduced major democratic reforms and ushered in devolution.
In 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, both facing major charges of crimes against humanity rallied their base using tribalism, lies and British manufactured disinformation to violate that very constitution which had provisions expecting Kenya to respect the ICC and follow the dictums of Chapter Six and other parts of the Constitution. Even though the Supreme Court gave a rubber stamp to [Jubilee concerned and democratic minded Kenyans saw it as the promulgation of a JUDICIAL coup. The incoming government quickly became notorious for major scandals, corruption and open tribalism favouring members of the Gikuyu and Kalenjin ethnic communities to the exclusion of the vast majority of the Kenyan people. Names like Waiguru, Ben Gethi, Kabura,William Ruto and others became synonymous with state organized theft whether it was National Youth Service, the ministry of Health, Eurobonds or Hustlergate. In addition, the police and paramilitary in total violation of the Bill of Rights and other provisions of the law, brazenly violated the rights of innocent Kenyans through violence, arbitrary arrests and other abuses of the 2010 Constitution.
There was an attempt to perpetuate these outrages in the recently concluded charade miscalled the August 8, 2017 elections. Apart from the wanton and brutal murder of Chris Msando, innocent children and police violence against innocent civilians, there was the cynical arrogance of the Jubilee clique to misuse their parliamentary majority to gutter the very same Constitution that they had sworn to defend and uphold.
The above was a way of establishing the rationale for this second part of the essay.
Today, I want to talk about the SUBJECTIVE ingredients for a revolutionary situation to obtain in Kenya.
By way of delving into the topic, let me talk about events which took place almost three years ago in West Africa.
The Burkinabé uprising was a series of demonstrations and riots in Burkina Faso in October 2014 that quickly spread to multiple cities. They began in response to attempts at changing the constitution to allow President Blaise Compaoré to run again and extend his 27 years in office. Pressure for political change came from civil society and in particular from the country’s youth. Following an amendment in 2000, the constitution limited presidents to two terms of five years. However, the restrictions were not applied retroactively, allowing ex-President Blaise Compaoré, who had been in office since 1987, to run for a further two terms and be re-elected in 2005 and 2010.
In regards to the 2015 presidential election, Compaoré tried to extend his 27 years in power by enacting a constitutional amendment to lift term limits. As a result, the opposition called for protests against the measure that was sitting in parliament. The Burkinabé Spring also called for change amid a stagnant economy and a non-responsive state, which was met with some concessions. The events magnified a divide, and distrust, between the regular army and the special units.
We know what eventually happened with the eventual ouster of Compaore.
The news reverberated across Africa and was seen as a major victory for popular democratic struggles.
In our present Kenyan context can we replicate the same in Kenya?
Obviously NOT.
The conditions in Burkina Faso are not synonymous with Kenya and therefore those heady dreamers who are fantasizing about a similar uprising happening in this country totally miss the point.
I think a better frame of reference would be to study something also in Africa, which happened even before the late Captain Thomas Sankara came to power.
I am talking about the historic United Democratic Front of South Africa.
The first branches of what later became the United Democratic Front were formed in May 1983 .
The UDF was launched nationally at a meeting at Mitchell's Plain on 20 August 1983. Three national presidents were appointed. In the period from 1983 to 1989 the UDF established itself as one of the most prominent political movements in South Africa with more than 600 affiliated organizations-political youth, women's and student and teacher organisations.
After its formation, the UDF declared it wanted to establish a true democracy in which all South Africans could participate and create a single, non-racial, unfragmented South Africa. The UDF was non-racial in the sense that it welcomed support from members of all races. Although it permitted group mobilization based on a specific ethnicity, the overall aim remained the achievement of a non-racial society. The dominant political characteristic of the UDF was that most of its affiliated members supported the Freedom Charter.
FOLKS, LET ME TAKE A BREAK.
I HAVE BEEN WRITING FOR SOME TIME AND I NEED TO SNUGGLE IN BED. I WILL CONTINUE THE ESSAY WHEN I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING.
STAY TUNED...
A few days ago, I loudly wondered whether there was in fact a “revolutionary situation.” obtaining in Kenya.
At the time, I responded to my own question saying cryptically, “Yes”and “No.”
The negative part of my answer pointed out that while OBJECTIVELY, it appeared as if the conditions pointed to one of the hallmarks of a revolutionary situation but that unfortunately the SUBJECTIVE factor was absent.
I pointed out that unlike South Africa, Kenya did not have the equivalent of the South African Communist Party nor its stalwarts of the calibre of Chris Hani or Joe Slovo.
Some people have jumped to the conclusion that, given my obvious Marxist-Leninist inclinations, I was mooting for a SOCIALIST revolution.
This was a mistaken notion on the part of those readers of mine.
What is on the cards in Kenya TODAY is a National Democratic Revolution.
By which I mean what?
It is important to recognize that the BIGGEST OBSTACLE standing before Kenyans and true independence, genuine democracy and the onset of ongoing social liberations remains the NEO-COLONIAL STATE and its local comprador bourgeois nyapara caretakers.
Flowing from the above, Kenyans must somehow SMASH the existing neo-colonial state and set up a NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC STATE in this particular country in East Africa.
This will take a major shift in class, social and political relations in Kenya because it will entail a situation where the vast majority of the wananchi turn the tables on the comprador bourgeois clique.
Speaking simply and bluntly, Kenyans need a REVOLUTION of a NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC character to achieve our objective of national independence, national democracy and national and social liberation.
We are fighting for a National Democratic Revolution in Kenya.
The “National” obviously refers to the fact that we can not fight for the liberation of Turkanaland, Masaailand, Luoland, Mulembe Country, Gikuyuland, Pwani, northern Kenya and Gusiiland separately in isolation and to the exclusion of other parts of Kenya. Neither can we fight for the tribal or regional hegemony of one part of Kenyan society to the exclusion of other parts. We are fighting
for the whole of Kenya.
The “Democratic” aspect defines the main content of our struggles. We are deepening the spaces to be occupied by the popular social actors and here we mean the social forces: the workers, the small farmers, the poor, the women, the youth and all the wananchi who have been so far marginalized from the political mainstream.
The “Revolution” aspect underscores the need to go beyond PIECEMEAL REFORMS. We need a fundamental shift and reorganization of Kenyan society. At this point the rallying cry should be to DEFEND AND DEEPEN THE 2010 CONSTITUTION.
Not ALL revolutions are VIOLENT.
A revolution is simply a moment or process in time and space where one group of rulers (not individuals but social groups and/or classes) are replaced in terms of political power by another, previously marginalized social group/class/alliances of various classes who then proceed to undertake a fundamental restructuring of that society.
It flows from this definition that a revolution is not an elitist conspiracy but a dramatic moment in history when millions and millions of ordinary wananchi are galvanized by a well-organized political and social movement with a strong leadership achieve ownership and immediate agency in enacting new pathways to the future.
Neither are we talking of a coup d'état or other short cuts to power.
If anything, it is Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto and the Jubilee gang who have tried imposing a coup-not in the classic military sense- but nevertheless using state bureaucracy and the discredited IEBC to impose their rule on the Kenyan people. That is why Kenyans and the progressive world in general breathed a sigh of relief when the solomonic Supreme Court declared that Uhuru Kenyatta was not validly elected at the August 8th elections.
We have gone through two elections since the passage of the 2010 Constitution which introduced major democratic reforms and ushered in devolution.
In 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, both facing major charges of crimes against humanity rallied their base using tribalism, lies and British manufactured disinformation to violate that very constitution which had provisions expecting Kenya to respect the ICC and follow the dictums of Chapter Six and other parts of the Constitution. Even though the Supreme Court gave a rubber stamp to [Jubilee concerned and democratic minded Kenyans saw it as the promulgation of a JUDICIAL coup. The incoming government quickly became notorious for major scandals, corruption and open tribalism favouring members of the Gikuyu and Kalenjin ethnic communities to the exclusion of the vast majority of the Kenyan people. Names like Waiguru, Ben Gethi, Kabura,William Ruto and others became synonymous with state organized theft whether it was National Youth Service, the ministry of Health, Eurobonds or Hustlergate. In addition, the police and paramilitary in total violation of the Bill of Rights and other provisions of the law, brazenly violated the rights of innocent Kenyans through violence, arbitrary arrests and other abuses of the 2010 Constitution.
There was an attempt to perpetuate these outrages in the recently concluded charade miscalled the August 8, 2017 elections. Apart from the wanton and brutal murder of Chris Msando, innocent children and police violence against innocent civilians, there was the cynical arrogance of the Jubilee clique to misuse their parliamentary majority to gutter the very same Constitution that they had sworn to defend and uphold.
The above was a way of establishing the rationale for this second part of the essay.
Today, I want to talk about the SUBJECTIVE ingredients for a revolutionary situation to obtain in Kenya.
By way of delving into the topic, let me talk about events which took place almost three years ago in West Africa.
The Burkinabé uprising was a series of demonstrations and riots in Burkina Faso in October 2014 that quickly spread to multiple cities. They began in response to attempts at changing the constitution to allow President Blaise Compaoré to run again and extend his 27 years in office. Pressure for political change came from civil society and in particular from the country’s youth. Following an amendment in 2000, the constitution limited presidents to two terms of five years. However, the restrictions were not applied retroactively, allowing ex-President Blaise Compaoré, who had been in office since 1987, to run for a further two terms and be re-elected in 2005 and 2010.
In regards to the 2015 presidential election, Compaoré tried to extend his 27 years in power by enacting a constitutional amendment to lift term limits. As a result, the opposition called for protests against the measure that was sitting in parliament. The Burkinabé Spring also called for change amid a stagnant economy and a non-responsive state, which was met with some concessions. The events magnified a divide, and distrust, between the regular army and the special units.
We know what eventually happened with the eventual ouster of Compaore.
The news reverberated across Africa and was seen as a major victory for popular democratic struggles.
In our present Kenyan context can we replicate the same in Kenya?
Obviously NOT.
The conditions in Burkina Faso are not synonymous with Kenya and therefore those heady dreamers who are fantasizing about a similar uprising happening in this country totally miss the point.
I think a better frame of reference would be to study something also in Africa, which happened even before the late Captain Thomas Sankara came to power.
I am talking about the historic United Democratic Front of South Africa.
The first branches of what later became the United Democratic Front were formed in May 1983 .
The UDF was launched nationally at a meeting at Mitchell's Plain on 20 August 1983. Three national presidents were appointed. In the period from 1983 to 1989 the UDF established itself as one of the most prominent political movements in South Africa with more than 600 affiliated organizations-political youth, women's and student and teacher organisations.
After its formation, the UDF declared it wanted to establish a true democracy in which all South Africans could participate and create a single, non-racial, unfragmented South Africa. The UDF was non-racial in the sense that it welcomed support from members of all races. Although it permitted group mobilization based on a specific ethnicity, the overall aim remained the achievement of a non-racial society. The dominant political characteristic of the UDF was that most of its affiliated members supported the Freedom Charter.
FOLKS, LET ME TAKE A BREAK.
I HAVE BEEN WRITING FOR SOME TIME AND I NEED TO SNUGGLE IN BED. I WILL CONTINUE THE ESSAY WHEN I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING.
STAY TUNED...
