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The revolutionary situation in Kenya

That the epoch of capitalism is on borrowed time is a fact that goes without saying. In its struggle with labour, capital has over the years fought the progressive forces of the people with desperate resistance. But it is the absolute law of nature that everything comes and goes, and everything comes into existence and passes away.

Africa and the South have been adversely affected by this exploitative system, and Kenya is no exception. As a country that has endured decades of betrayal by its bourgeois leaders; agents of imperialism, Kenya finds itself at an increasingly revolutionary situation year after year. The common citizen has to put up with an increase in food prices every year. The ordinary citizen has to fork out extra shillings in tax to the government year after year. The common man has to endure the agony of poor delivery of public services every year, from healthcare, education, transport to security. The state of housing is alarming. The level of poverty is shocking. The rate of crime is appalling. The amount of starvation is pitiful. The ordinary Kenyan, worse still, has to absorb the shock of major corruption scandals every now and then, committed by the very leaders they put their trust in. Shameful. Utterly shameful.

But perhaps the most disheartening fact is the total lack of remorse from the very people committing these atrocities. An overpaid parliament, totally and solely committed toward upholding the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, pitilessly opposed to any genuine development and empowerment of the people of Kenya, sycophantically avowed to promoting and protecting the interests of the global multinationals and international capitalists, is shamefully in bed with this very system and, instead of serving Kenyans, serves itself and nothing more.

But the masses, disillusioned and gullible as they might be, always get their way at some point in history. In the opportune moment, when the contradiction existing in the economic life of our society is unravelled, when the masses clearly see the source of their problems and the necessary way out, they swiftly take action, in order to bring sanity to the society and bring harmony to the life of the people.

The rate of borrowing by the government, or over borrowing, is definitely going to make a tremendous impact on the lives of ordinary Kenyans. In fact, prices of basic commodities have already began to go up, in a bid to collect more taxes to pay up the debt. With an increase in the rate of inflation, one cannot help but relate the current situation to the infamous Structural Adjustment Programmes of the 1980s, meant to majorly increase taxes and cut government expenditure. It is painful still to call them the 'Washington Consensus', evidently showing the origin of the programmes, and whomever they were meant to benefit.

But this is besides the point. The common mwananchi will not understand, or want to understand, that the reason why he or she cannot afford a loaf of bread is because some money was borrowed somewhere, and now has to be paid. Worse still, that some of it was stolen by corrupt individuals. We shall not understand that inasmuch as our lives are largely unchanged we have a massive debt to pay, and that taxes are high for this reason.

The narrow mindedness of the Kenyan ruling class and the fact that they are driven purely by selfish motives will almost certainly mean that the economic situation will remain largely unchanged. For the rest of the Kenyans, the workers, farmers and all the people, this can only mean one thing; taking our destiny in our own hands. Kenyans have to understand that unless this situation is countered by a united struggle, they shall continue to sink further into poverty. Kenyans must know that the real enemies of the people are those directly above them, masquerading as their saviours but catering for their interests alone. Kenyans should realize that the key to the ultimate fulfilment of their aspirations lies in their ability to chart a way forward by themselves. The people of Kenya must discover that the solution to their economic problems lies in a revolutionary undertaking. Above all, Kenyans must appreciate the fact that the present economic conditions are characteristic of the system of capitalism, and the solution lies in the overthrow of capital and the triumph of labour.

Doubtlessly, more and more Kenyans are expressing their understanding of these facts. A revolutionary wave is coming. A few years. And the destiny of the people of Kenya will be in their own hands.

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