LiberalMindsKE

  The struggle in Kenya for true democracy means a fight against the capitalist system and imperialism. There are huge class contradictions within our country. While the political elite live lavish lives and engage in a frenzy of looting and theft, the conditions of the working masses have either stagnated or worsened. The problem is that there is no genuine revolutionary movement or party in Kenya, which could lead the working class and the oppressed out of this quagmire. The building of such a movement is the most urgent task facing the working class and the revolutionary youth of Kenya today. In Kenya, the struggle for socialism has been deleted from official history and from public consciousness by the ruling class, backed by Britain and USA. They ensured that capitalism was imposed on people after independence and that the voices of those advocating socialism were suppressed. The Kenyan masses need to rediscover their revolutionary traditions. What is needed is a working class...

  The whole history in Kenya shows that no real change can be expected within a capitalist system. Not only the two main coalition candidates, but all four candidates up for election in the presidential race, were united in their capitalist and pro-imperialist policy. The national elections have become meaningless rituals: a revolving door to elect this bourgeois scoundrel or the other. Both of the leading presidential candidates have been accused of corruption and theft of public property. The other two are non-entities. George Wajackoya became a talking point on social media and beyond because of his proposals of how to deal with corruption, including death sentences for corrupt government officials and judges, and the legalisation of marijuana for commercial industrial use to help cure the ballooning public debt. He also proposed rearing venomous snakes for antivenom harvesting, largely for export; and exporting dog  meat and hyena body parts to Asian countries. Meanwhile, ...

  William Ruto was the Deputy President of Kenya for the last decade, under an administration that failed to address the economic crisis in East Africa's wealthiest and most stable nation. Food and fuel prices are surging, unemployment is high and public debt rising. One wonders why the solutions he presents in his election manifesto were not successful during his 10 years as vice president? The country’s currency, the shilling, has sharply depreciated. This means Kenya's Treasury will face difficulties paying back its huge dollar-denominated debt. The public debt rose from $16 billion in 2013 to $71 billion in 2021. As a result, Kenya spends nearly 30 percent of its state revenue on interest payments. With a debt-to-GDP ratio of 69.1 percent, Kenya is classified as being at high risk of distress by the International Monetary Fund. A Bloomberg Economics assessment  The World Bank and Euro bond holders account for nearly half of Kenya’s external debt, at 28 percent and 20 perce...

  William Ruto was sworn in as Kenya's fifth president on Tuesday 13 September, a week after the Supreme Court rejected a challenge by his opponent in a close-fought election, in which Ruto received 50.5 percent of the vote against 48.8 percent for Raila Odinga. Neither of these reactionary bourgeois politicians offered any way forward for the Kenyan masses, who face increasingly intolerable conditions. Odinga’s team made allegations that the IEBC electoral transmission system had been hacked and the results tampered with.  Azimio la Umoja  (“Resolution for Unity”), a political coalition headed by Odinga, further accused the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and Deputy President William Ruto of colluding and “subverting the will of the people”. These claims were however thrown out by the Supreme Court, which affirmed Ruto’s victory. This year’s election witnessed relative calm, with most people displaying apathy towards the entire process. The majority of Ke...

Pakistan Investigative Journalist Arshad Sharif Killed In Kenya Arshad Sharif, a prominent Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif has been killed in Kenya. He fled his country after being charged with sedition. The journalist died after police shoot-out responding to reports of a stolen vehicle. Sharif’s car allegedly drove through the road barrier that had been erected by police to track a stolen vehicle which prompted the shooting. “The officers trailing the motor vehicle had alerted police in Magadi who erected a road barrier,” Bruno Isohi Shioso, a spokesperson for Kenya’s National Police Service, said in a statement. Sharif had fled Pakistan in August due to sedition charges levelled against him for allegedly criticizing state institutions and “abetting mutiny” within the military. He had interviewed opposition politician Shahbaz Gill, a close ally of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Following the interview, Gill was also charged with sedition by the Pakistani police for making what ...