“FRONT
FOR POPULAR CHANGE” AND THE ROLE OF THE KENYAN LEFT
“While seeking to
tackle the issues the Front for Popular Change has listed, KSDA
believes that the Front should expand its agenda to include opposition to IMF/World Bank prescriptions and crippling loans which the
ruling class uses to loot the economy. The new Front will not be able to tackle
the problem of tribalism without the weapon of class-based politics neither
will it be able to tackle the problem of poverty without raising the
alternative of the Kenyan society owning the major wealth-producing
institutions in the country currently on the hands of multinational companies,
local capitalists and other imperialist agents”.
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By Okoth Osewe
Slightly more than a year
after the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) took
power on a “popular wave”, the ”Front
for Popular Change” has been launched in
The
emergence of new “popular” fronts and Movements in
While the
formation of Masikini
Liberation Front and Chama cha Wanachi
were lacklustre events, the launching of the Front for Popular Change was
significant because the initiative takers are known anti-imperialist crusaders
some of whom have suffered political persecution under the Moi
dictatorship because of their beliefs. Despite the lack of detail, the
emergence of the new Front has rekindled a new sense of “cautious optimism” among the
ideologically conscious Kenyans that a group of Marxists may be taking a
serious initiative that may lead to bigger political steps in the future.
Mwandawiro Mghanga and other progressives
in the Kenyan Left
Mr. Mwandawiro Mghanga, a core member
of the new group whom, on the basis of his strong position as a sitting MP,
will, most likely become the figure-head of the new Front, told KSDA soon after his election last year that he believes
that Socialism is the answer to the political crisis in Kenya. Since he
returned from exile towards the late 90s to prepare the ground which led to his
election in Wundanyi constituency, the former political prisoner has routinely
been treated with suspicion by bourgeoisie politicians because of his
“Communist background”.
When he
joined Safina Party (a right-wing outfit headed by
Mr. Paul Muite) to become the Party’s Secretary
General, we argued that Safina was not the best
option through which socialist ideas could be introduced in Kenya and predicted
Mwandawiro’s absorption in the bourgeoisie camp if he
did not quit the party. The move came after politicians with Socialist leanings
were in different stages of rehabilitation in the capitalist camp after
switching sides because of the “changing world situation”. Many Comrades must
have been relieved when Mwandawiro quit Safina after about a year, citing irreconcilable
ideological differences.
When Mwandawiro vied for a seat during the last General
elections on a Ford-People ticket (another right wing party), no eyebrows were
raised this time round. In fact, KSDA was part of the
bandwagon which helped raise 20,000kr (about Ksh 200,000) in
It is not
the first time that progressive forces with “Leftist profiles” are teaming up
to establish political structures to wage struggle. Here, Professor Anyang Nyongo, Mirugi Kariuki, Raila Odinga, Kivutha
Kibwana, Koigi wa Wamwere
and numerous others who are either in the government, are sitting MPs or
holding strategic positions in the government comes to mind. Since Narc took power, these “progressives” have all collapsed
into ethnic politics after joining organized structures without anti-capitalist
positions. Instead, they have accepted to work within the frame work of
capitalism with some arguing that class politics is not possible in a situation
where ethnicity is deeply entrenched and where everybody votes according to
tribal configurations.
After
seizing power, Mirugi Kariuki
and Koigi wa
Wamwere are now fighting Raila
Odinga using the very ethnic politics they opposed
during the Moi dictatorship. Despite the presence of
these “former radicals” in positions of power today, millions of Kenyans now
believe that “politicians are the same” because they cannot discern the
difference between Narc and KANU
politicians. Ideologically, there is no difference between Narc
and KANU because both formations base their politics
on capitalism. But this is beside the point.
New Front does not challenge
capitalism
According
to the general
platform that has been released by the Front for Popular Change, the
immediate agenda of the new group is limited to addressing the Constitutional
crisis, the state of insecurity in Kenya, biting anger, runaway poverty among
Kenyans, nepotism in the government and tribalism within the Kibaki administration. The front has declared that it
stands for national unity, social and economic justice, rule of law, good
governance and security of the Kenyan people and their property. In content,
this simplistic platform is the same as the platforms of almost all the 14
political parties in the governing Coalition.
The
platform of the new Front does not seek to challenge the capitalist system in
While
seeking to tackle the issues the Front has listed, KSDA
believes that the Front should expand its agenda to include opposition to IMF/World Bank prescriptions and crippling loans which the ruling
class uses to loot the economy. The new Front will not be able to tackle the
problem of tribalism without the weapon of class-based politics neither will it
be able to tackle the problem of poverty without raising the alternative of the
Kenyan society owning the major wealth-producing institutions in the country
currently on the hands of multinational companies, local capitalists and other
imperialist agents. There is no permanent solution to insecurity in
The Narc government has been nationalizing land that was
grabbed by crooks in the former regime especially in the urban areas. This has
shown that it is possible for a new government that comes to power to
nationalize land in
Should Kenyan Socialists
intervene as events unfold?
We are
raising these issues because some leading lights in the new Front like Mwandawiro, Otieno Kopiyo, Njeru Kathangu
and others who cannot be named here are “veterans” who should be able to give
the new Front a Left wing orientation even if (for tactical reasons) they
cannot attack capitalism or raise Socialism as an alternative at the moment. By
setting aside the core issues that are at the root of the political crisis in
Kenya, the new Front is running the risk of creating another amorphous outfit
that may be of no consequence in raising mass anti-capitalist consciousness in
preparation for the creation of the “subjective factor” currently missing in
Kenya to pave the way for the Socialist revolution in the country.
Of course,
the new Front could be another “strategy” in preparation for the
formation/launching of a Socialist/Workers Party at some appropriate stage in
the future. If that is the case, we wish to warn that a section of the Kenyan Left
could be making the same mistake that was made during the Saba saba (Multiparty) and the Velvet (Narc) revolutions, time when Socialists
failed to organize independently to intervene as events unfolded. It is true
that the level of State repression during the Moi
dictatorship was so intense that it was almost impossible for the Left to
organize openly, time when many Kenyan Leftists were murdered, sent to prison,
detained or forced into exile as Moi moved to ban
“Ideological politics” together with socialist books and literature in
libraries and institutions of higher learning. The situation during the 90s
also became complicated following events in the former
But, that
was then. Now, there is enough “democratic space” in
“Unidentified object” in the
“Ideological space”
We have
more than enough examples. “Patriots” who were associated with the Left and who
were expected to raise the spectre of the socialist revolution were swept by
the reformist “multi-party wave” and later swallowed by the anti-KANU shark that became Narc. Today, they are earning a million salaries
per month, riding in Ksh 10 million Pajeros, have a blank cheque of Ksh 20
million per year concealed under the “Constituency allowance”, insurance cover
of Ksh 10 million, enjoy Ksh 75,000 car allowance, Ksh 25,000 entertainment
allowance together with numerous hefty perks that beats the imagination. Isn’t
it shameful that when ordinary workers are living on starvation wages of under
Ksh 5,000 per month, their MPs are in the process of becoming millionaires by
defrauding the exploited tax payer?
Instead of
opposing what has become legalized looting of the Kenyan economy by the new
“representatives of the people”, MPs like Koigi wa Wamwere
(once celebrated as a radical firebrand) are providing hopeless explanations to
justify their new privileges. These former comrades are all fighting for power
and resources in the new Narc government as the
masses who voted for change ask themselves “What happened?” The crisis is so
acute that even the new Constitution that was to be delivered within 100 days
is stuck after more than a year of Narc in power.
Now, the free primary education that Narc has been
waving as an election promise fulfilled out of a multitude of unfulfilled
promises has collapsed with reports in the Daily
Nation (12th April 2004) that parents are paying for Primary
school fees.
Even if it
cannot take a clear anti-imperialist anti-capitalist stand for fear of early
strangulation by imperialist agents concentrated in Kenya to watch
British/American interests in the name of fighting terrorism, the calibre of
leaders in the new Front should make it possible for them to oppose privatizations
openly, attack IMF and World Bank, fight retrenchment
of workers, call for a minimum living wage for workers in Kenya, denounce the
looting of the economy by the new ruling elite and send signals to Kenyan
workers and the youth that they should get involved in politics through
independent Trade Unions and other means in preparation for a new revolution.
On a long term, failure to raise these issues will simply raise suspicions
about the capacity of leaders in the new Front to advance the anti-capitalist
struggle after it was abandoned by former radicals now in positions of power
like Professor Anyang Nyongo
and company.
Narc
politicians are calling for “a government of national unity”. Ford-People and KANU have formed an
There is
another tired argument that in
New Front at a good “vantage
point” to clear political confusion
The
bankruptcy of Narc ruling class and its policies will continue to
create conditions for new battles and social conflicts in
Other
progressives think that even during this era of Narc,
the first item on the agenda for the Left is the “National democratic
revolution” where anonymous Marxists join hands with “Civil society” and other
political adventurists to realize certain democratic
rights after which the alternative of Socialism can then be raised “when the
situation is ripe” by setting up a new formation. This two-stage theory of the
Socialist revolution has led to the failure of Social Democratic Parties across
the world (especially in
After
building welfare states across
Regardless of
its inherent weaknesses, KSDA supports the new front
as a good step forward. We hope that the Front for Popular Change will widen
its agenda to include the key issues we have raised above. We cannot afford to
keep quiet when there are missing links in new and progressive initiatives by
individuals currently at a good “vantage point” from where the opportunism and
political confusion in
Published by Kenya Socialist Democratic
Alliance (KSDA)
email: harakatips@hotmail.com