Eduardo Hdez | Communist Party (Mexico)
Although the African decolonisation process officially began with independence and revolution in Egypt in 1952 and 1954, and the historic Bandung Conference of 1955—where numerous African and Asian states converged with observers from still-colonised territories—provided the definitive impulse to the continent’s anti-colonial claims.
The invasion of Africa reached its peak following the Berlin Conference of 1884, when the most powerful countries of Europe, together with other powers such as the United States and the Ottoman Empire, agreed on the rules that would govern the partition of the continent. Just a few years later, in the first decades of the 20th century, barely two territories in Africa were not suffering under the colonial yoke: Ethiopia—which was occupied by Italy between 1935 and 1941 but was not truly colonised—and Liberia, which proclaimed itself an independent republic in 1847 having been colonised by former slaves from the United States.
The overseas territories (governments of capitalist countries such as the United States, France, England, Portugal and Italy considered the territories under their dominion as extensions of their continental or insular territory, that is, geographical areas outside their metropolitan territory, still subjected politically, economically, administratively and technologically) were distant areas separated by a sea or ocean. Despite the colonies beginning to assert their role and demanding economic and political compensation—which in many cases gave rise to anti-colonial and liberation movements—the first territories to be decolonised after the conflict were Libya and Eritrea, former Italian colonies that had become French and British mandates following Italy’s defeat in the Second World War.
Kenya’s independence came in 1963 after ten years of bloody warfare. Formally proclaimed on 12 December 1963, it was the result of a highly violent and revolutionary process, marked principally by the bloody Mau Mau uprising (1952–1960) against British colonial rule. Although the most intense phase of the rebellion was militarily suppressed by 1956, the Kenyan people—with their different nations—demonstrated that freedom and independence were what this people, subjected to prolonged and brutal British exploitation (above all human exploitation, where human beings were trafficked and sold as slaves), sought above all else. Britain wanted to keep Kenya as a colony supplying agricultural products and as a major producer of tea, sugar cane, maize and dairy products. The colony was slipping out of British control both financially and politically, and it was then decided in London to negotiate and accelerate the talks leading to Kenyan independence.
The day of independence in 1963 was thus the direct consequence of a decade of armed struggle and brutal colonial repression, not a peaceful transition.
The Mau Mau Rebellion was an armed insurrection carried out mainly by the Kikuyu ethnic group, which sought to recover fertile lands seized by white settlers. The British government declared a state of emergency, detaining tens of thousands of Kenyans in prison camps under terrible conditions.
It is estimated that British repression caused tens of thousands of deaths (some sources estimate close to 90,000, including those executed and those who died from torture or disease in the camps).
Following the end of the armed conflict, political negotiations were led by figures such as Jomo Kenyatta, who was released after years of imprisonment to become the first Prime Minister. Kenyan independence was not a peaceful independence. Kenya’s freedom was sealed with ‘blood, fear and impossible decisions’, where armed resistance and fierce British repression shifted the political landscape towards decolonisation by the end of 1963.
Kenya’s official languages are Swahili (Kiswahili), which functions as the national and lingua franca, and English, used in administration, education and commerce. In addition, more than 60 indigenous languages are spoken in the country, with Kikuyu, Dholuo and Kamba being common, along with Sheng, an urban mix of Swahili and English.
• Swahili (Kiswahili): the national language, fundamental for daily communication and cultural identity.
• English: imposed by force, it became the official language, a legacy of the British colonial era, and is the primary language in the formal sphere.
• Kenya has close to a hundred mother tongues belonging to Bantu, Nilotic and Cushitic families.
• Sheng: a popular slang in urban areas such as Nairobi, combining Swahili, English and local languages.
The majority of Kenyans are multilingual, using Swahili and English as lingua francas in addition to their mother tongue.
Kenya in the 21st Century and Its Economy
The main source of wealth and the engine of Kenya’s economy is agriculture, which contributes approximately 25% of GDP and employs the majority of the population. Tea and horticulture (flowers and vegetables) are the most important export products. In addition, the services sector and tourism are key pillars.
Agriculture is considered the backbone of Kenyan economic development, and alongside tea production, Kenya is a major producer of coffee, sugar cane, maize and dairy products. This African country is one of the world’s leading exporters of cut flowers, especially roses.
The services sector generates more than 50% of Kenya’s GDP—hence the French interest in holding economic summits to persuade Kenyans to privatise public services—with tourism and financial services standing out, including rapid technological expansion. Although limited, mining features the extraction of titanium and precious stones. Wildlife and natural landscapes attract large numbers of visitors and foreign exchange.
Kenya’s economy is one of the most diverse in East Africa, although it remains significantly dependent on agricultural production and the export of raw materials.
The Situation at the Start of 2026
In 2025, the International Monetary Fund conditioned the largest loan in history to African countries on Kenya’s privatisation of its mineral and natural resources as well as its public services. Reports indicate that the IMF conditioned financial support to Kenya on a series of strict structural reforms, including the privatisation of state enterprises and fiscal reforms, which have generated controversy and protests.
Although the situation is evolving rapidly and in April 2026 Kenya was seeking alternative financing, the relationship with the IMF has been marked by these harsh conditions.
President William Ruto’s government announced plans to privatise or sell stakes in various state enterprises (including those in public utilities and energy sectors) under an IMF-backed reform programme. This initially included the privatisation of 35 companies, with plans to extend it to more state companies. The IMF demanded reforms to improve tax collection, fiscal consolidation and an increase in debt service spending, which reduced the budget for essential public services such as health and education.
These measures provoked violent protests in 2024 and 2025, as citizens considered them a transfer of public wealth to foreign creditors and a burden on the popular classes.
Situation as of April 2026
Kenya announced that it would not depend on the IMF for the rest of the fiscal year (June 2026), managing to finance part of its debt through the issuance of new eurobonds and the sale of stakes in the Kenya Pipeline Company and Safaricom. However, the IMF maintains working missions in the country and reforms for a new medium-term programme continue to be discussed.
Kenya has remained among the African countries with the highest outstanding debt to the IMF, exceeding $4 billion in March 2026. The IMF strategy of conditioning loans on privatisation has been a central axis of economic discussions in Kenya, generating an intense debate about economic sovereignty and the social impact of debt. It is in this context that the “Africa Forward” summit (Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth) will be held on 11 and 12 May 2026 in Nairobi. This unprecedented event seeks to renew Franco-African relations in a non-French-speaking country, focusing (according to the governments of William Ruto and Emmanuel Macron) on innovation, energy transition, green industrialisation and the blue economy (internal water resources such as lakes, rivers, dams, lagoons and springs, as well as the exploitation of coasts, ports and marine ecosystems).
However, despite official declarations from Kenya and France, from French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenyan President William Ruto, who claim to seek to redefine ties around sustainable development, moving away from the colonial legacy and promoting mutually beneficial partnerships—this summit will address the reform of the international financial architecture, artificial intelligence, connectivity and joint solutions to economic and environmental crises for both countries, according to official documents and invitations.
What is clear is that this meeting follows a French strategy of transforming its presence in Africa, marked by the military withdrawal from West Africa between 2022 and 2025 and a new policy focused on the private sector and civil society. And although it is the first time this summit has been held in a non-Francophone African country, it augurs nothing good for Kenya.
On the other hand, communist movements in Kenya and the radical left—notably the Communist Party of Kenya (CPK) and the Communist Party Marxist Kenya (CPMK)—have expressed a firm stance against the increase in French influence in the country, labelling it neocolonialism, and expressing firm rejection of growing French interference in Kenyan affairs. They will participate in a ‘counter-summit’ on 11 and 12 May in Nairobi, wherever the official summit venue may be.
This vision intensified with the organisation in Nairobi of the Africa-France Summit 2026 (planned for May 2026), which left-wing groups consider an ‘imperialist recolonisation’ disguised as climate and financial diplomacy and ‘friendship between two continents’. They clearly see France’s attempt to reposition itself and maintain its imperialist presence, after being expelled from its former colonies in the Sahel, seeking at all costs a trade treaty and a defence treaty that would grant immunity to French soldiers acting on Kenyan territory—long-term treaties that it is intended to conclude with the capitulating government of William Ruto, who acts more as a local French agent serving Western interests and trying to subject the country to the dictates of the IMF and imperialist countries such as the United States and England.
Protests rejecting these summits are growing, as is sympathy for movements for the country’s political and economic sovereignty that do not want to be the “playground of foreign powers.”
The position of our Kenyan communist comrades is summarized in the following points:
1. Rejection of ‘Francafrique’ in Kenya: They consider that, after being expelled from several Sahel countries, France is seeking in Kenya a new partner to maintain its economic and military influence in Africa, describing it as an attempt at ‘plunder’ of resources.
2. Criticism of the Ruto Government: The communists denounce that President William Ruto’s government is facilitating this influence through defence pacts and by hosting summits that serve the interests of foreign powers rather than the local population.
3. Mobilisation and Resistance: Left-wing movements have organised counter-protests to denounce what they call an ‘imperialist war council’ disguised as diplomacy, demanding sovereignty and non-intervention by Western powers.
4. Anti-Imperialist Solidarity: They argue that ‘development’ partnerships with France result in the privatisation of key sectors and the impoverishment of the Kenyan working class.
Fraternally, Communist Party!
Workers of the world, Unite!
From the American Continent and From the Mexican Republic, Receive a Fraternal and Combative Greeting, Kenyan Communist and Revolutionary Comrades!