Shiraz Durrani - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Shiraz Durrani

Mau Mau was influenced in its ideological outlook as well as the strategies by the trade union mo... more Mau Mau was influenced in its ideological outlook as well as the strategies by the trade union movement. It was the activists in the East African Trade Union Congress who were the ideological force behind the resistance movement. They introduced the key aspect missing from Maji Maji: class consciousness and class ideology, maintaining that the enemy was not white people as such but the class — the bourgeoisie — they represented and the ideology —capitalism —they represented.

countercurrents.org

Looks at the prospects for the current resistance in Kenya in face of increased oppression by the... more Looks at the prospects for the current resistance in Kenya in face of increased oppression by the Ruto Government.

Patel, Ambu (Ed.): Struggle for 'Release Jomo and His Colleagues', 1963

Ambu H. Patel was a prominent activist during Kenya's War of Independence. He was born in Gujarat... more Ambu H. Patel was a prominent activist during Kenya's War of Independence. He was born in Gujarat, India and joined the freedom movement there when he was still young and was sent to prison at the age of 14. Thereafter the British imperialists arrested and imprisoned him twice.
Utilising his experience as a freedom fighter in India, Ambubhai took active part in the freedom struggle of Kenya. He worked with the Kenya ABrican Union leaders.
In 1952 when the armed struggle for freedom started, he would collect arms, food grains, clothes and money and send them to the Mau Mau freedom 6ghters. He often gave them shelter in his house or shop to keep them safe from the prying eyes of the British police and army,
This article looks at the hidden history of Patel and how he was marginalised by Jomo Kenyatta.

countercurrents.org, 2024

The article looks at long-term trends in the resistance in Kenya, comparing some aspects with eve... more The article looks at long-term trends in the resistance in Kenya, comparing some aspects with events before and after independence with current resistance in Kenya.

countercurrents.org, 2024

THe article looks at some historical developments in Kenya to show links with the current resista... more THe article looks at some historical developments in Kenya to show links with the current resistance .

countercurrents.org, 2023

Capitalism and imperialism have been exposed as anti-people forces like never before by their spo... more Capitalism and imperialism have been exposed as anti-people forces like never before by their sponsorship of the genocide of the Palestinian people by their special agent, 'Israel', an illegal country created by imperialism on Palestinian soil. What was known, but kept hidden by imperialist-friendly media, is now part of people's awareness around the world. Resistance to the imperialist mission is ever-present in every country as working people have been driven to poverty and almost slave-like conditions. And yet it has not been possible to defeat US imperialism. Millions of people all over the world have been marching to end 'Israeli' genocide and are demanding that their (capitalist) governments stop their moral, financial, material and weapons support for 'Israel'. But capitalism, with its hunger for super-profits, continues its wars, genocide, looting and murdering in its march to subjugate working people everywhere. The lure of profits from stolen land and resources is what drives them, blind to any humanitarian considerations.

Fiction or non-fiction, all writers are ideological. Some pretend to be neutral. But sitting on t... more Fiction or non-fiction, all writers are ideological. Some pretend to be neutral. But sitting on the fence is taking sides in the ideological and political life on the side of the oppressor and on the side of the capitalist status quo.

countercurrents.org, 2024

The struggle to end the current genocide in occupied Palestine can be a long and hard one. The re... more The struggle to end the current genocide in occupied Palestine can be a long and hard
one. The resistance of Zionism and imperialist takeover of Palestine and the massacre of
its people has also been long. No imperialist power will support its liberation, nor condemn
‘Israel’ for its genocides. On the contrary, they actively support the genocides by supplying
arms and finances to ‘Israel’. It is only people’s war against imperialism in individual
countries and with global unity of working people can end this system of killing people to
capture land and resources.

London: Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries eBooks, 2000

The Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read are pretty much what gives the profession (and has... more The Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read are pretty much what gives the profession (and has given the profession) any real stature and moral/political force in the public arena. Vague, vanilla-euphemizing blandness as a statement of "core values" weakens our basic credibility as a profession. Having said that, it isn't really a mystery why this is being pushed forward within ALA. PLG and SRRT have taken ALA and its divisions to task for betraying core values (as embedded in ALA policies and the two statements to which I've referred). ALA and ACRL leadership specifically have either been embarrassed or have been forced into actual, real..live discussions about the profession's values and how we might or might not put them into action. ALA leadership continues to see this as a threat and/or a distraction to the profession's "real" work, and so wants to define it out of existence. ACRL did the same thing with its "Strategic Plan" restrictions. This is political backlash, pure and simple. Hey folks, its not like we (progressives) actually win most of these battles/issues. Now along comes a bland "core values" statement which will provide verbal cover when an issue is raised, or define it out of existence. (I can see it know: "Well, intellectual freedom might be really, really core for academic librarians, but as for school or public librarians, we have to adapt and bring a different emphasis to that 'core' value.") The startling thing is that ALA leadership is willing to distance itself from the landmark positions which. have been its only base of public power and credibility in order to avoid taking positions or having internal debate. Stunning. Don't amend, defeat it.

Kenya's War of Independence restores Kenya's stolen history to its rightful place, stripp... more Kenya's War of Independence restores Kenya's stolen history to its rightful place, stripped of colonial interpretations. In this expanded and revised version of his 1986 booklet, Kimaathi, Mau Mau's First Prime Minister of Kenya, Durrani covers Mau Mau's resistance to colonialism and neo-colonialism and reflects on its ideology, organisation and achievements. He sees Mau Mau in the larger context of Kenya's war of independence and looks at the influence of organised, radical trade unions as the engine of resistance, linking economic with political demands of working people. Additional chapters document the post-independence resistance by the underground December Twelve Movement-Mwakenya. Durrani captures the dynamism of transition from colonialism to neo-colonialism: ?Imperialism replaced colonialism, African elites replaced White Settlers, neo-colonial government replaced colonial government. Resistance changed from the War of Independence to War of Economic Independence. Worker and peasant resistance is evident once again. History is on the march?.

Information for Social Change, Dec 1, 1994

countercurrents.org

Patel, Ambu (Ed.): Struggle for 'Release Jomo and His Colleagues', 1963

countercurrents.org, 2024

countercurrents.org, 2023

countercurrents.org, 2024

London: Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries eBooks, 2000

Information for Social Change, Dec 1, 1994

From Mau Mau to RutoMustGo Essays on Kenya’s Struggle Against Imperialism, 2024

These essays have been written during different stages of the 2024 RutoMustGo campaign and many w... more These essays have been written during different stages of the 2024 RutoMustGo campaign and many were first published in countercurrents.org. They are reproduced here on the occasion of the
Mau Mau Conference at the University of Nairobi in October 2024 in the hope that they will encourage greater awareness of the current situation and its links with historical events associatedwith Mau Mau. The full version is available at:file:///Users/shirazdurrani/Downloads/From%20Mau%20Mau%20to%20RutoMustGo-%20Essays%20on%20Kenya's%20Struggle%20Against%20Imperialism(Nov2024).pdf

Trade Union Studies in UK and Kenya , 2024

Nigel Flanagan brings a distinct perspective to the problems of trade union organising. In this a... more Nigel Flanagan brings a distinct perspective to the problems of trade union organising. In this account he draws on his own experiences as an activist, shop steward, strike organiser and working for the global union UNI. The book has be very well received and after six impressions this revised and enlarged edition is also being published in a Kenyan version with our partners, Vita Books - Nick Wright. Nigel Flanagan's Our Trade Unions: What Comes Next? was first published in Britain in early 2023 at the height of the country's inflationary crisis, when basic food costs were increasing by up to 20 per cent and energy by far more. Workers were fighting, through their trade unions, to protect their living standards and local services from the biggest attack for a century. This new Kenyan edition of Flanagan's book is, therefore, doubly welcome because it provides real life substance to these links. The chapters from Shiraz Durrani, himself a veteran of these struggles, reveal how far the movements of resistance to colonial rule were rooted in, and largely sprang from, the trade union movement in the 1920s and 30s. The importance of the contribution from Shiraz Durrani is that he places this resistance squarely in the special circumstances required for capitalist exploitation to take place in Kenya... Resistance demands mass-based political trade unions. This is why Kenya's experience and that of other African nations is of relevance not just to workers in Africa but those who wish to rebuild the workers' movement internationally. But this process must be political. It cannot be simply that of 'organising'. As Shiraz Durrani stresses, 'without a vision of achieving equality and justice, unions remain merely to make capitalism more acceptable to workers'— John Foster

Shiraz Durrani's A Struggle of Sixty-Two Days is a welcome addition to a growing backlist of dram... more Shiraz Durrani's A Struggle of Sixty-Two Days is a welcome addition to a growing backlist of drama texts that draw on the rich and often hidden history of East Africa. A Struggle of Sixty-Two-Days sets itself apart from the tradition of historical plays before it by eschewing the use of a singular heroic figure to centre the drama. Instead, the play deliberately delivers the texture of the lived realities, skills and experiences of the workers who made a success of the longest and most consequential strike in the country's history, but also acknowledges the collaboration and support they drew from the people against the backdrop of the imperialist, racist and colonial era The 1937 strike would not only deliver an eight-hour working day as a right, besides wage increases, but would also be the seeding for mobilising the people of Kenya to challenge injustice and launch the fight for freedom. It is a struggle that pits the might of imperialist capital against the survival instincts of the oppressed and their quest for justice. The scenery and dialogue transport the reader back to 1937, but its echoes still ring true in continuing present-day clashes between labour and exploitative capital.

Guerrilla Incursions into the Capitalist Mindset is an unprecedented collection of over 60 essays... more Guerrilla Incursions into the Capitalist Mindset is an unprecedented collection of over 60 essays, interviews, petitions and letters as well as poems and short stories flowing from the pen of Shiraz Durrani. It is a treasure trove of truths that has so far been obscured by the information vacuum created by capitalism and its sister, imperialism. By reprinting out-of-print material, and bringing to light limited access information, this book supplies a new language for understanding and articulating our realities. This collection not only recovers and recollects the remnants of previous displaced history but also makes alternative ideas and experiences available. Remarkably, it sets the record straight by establishing a historical link between the arrival of the trade union movement from India through Makhan Singh, who began calling for independence in 1950, to the Mau Mau war of independence in Kenya led by Dedan Kimaathi, and the subsequent clash between socialism and neo-colonialism, which claimed the life of its champion, Pio Gama Pinto.

The struggle between socialism and capitalism in Kenya has been long, bitter and violent. Capital... more The struggle between socialism and capitalism in Kenya has been long, bitter and violent. Capitalism won with the active support of USA and UK governments at the time of independence in 1963. Yet the original (1960) Kenya African National Union (KANU) Party was in favour of socialism. It was Presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Arap Moi who used violence to suppress those advocating socialism. They used their power to massacre, assassinate, exile, imprison and disappear people and created a state of terror to silence their opponents. Capitalism became the unstated state policy. Thus, imperialism won and the aims of Mau Mau were brutally suppressed. However, the desire for socialism never died. Resistance movements and opposition parties made socialism their aim, reflecting people’s desire for justice, equality and empowerment.
Many studies on Kenya focus on personalities or ‘tribes’ or race as driver of events, ignoring the all-important class and ideological positions of leaders and their Parties. Two Paths Ahead reproduces and comments on the documents from the opposing sides in the battles between capitalism and socialism — the original Kenya African National Union (KANU), its successor, KANU-B, and the Kenya People’s Union (KPU) on economy, land, labour, and social policy. It also touches upon the demands of the organisers of the 1982 Coup and traces the political stand of key leaders as proponents of capitalism or socialism. The final section reproduces some of the documents on this ideological struggle. The book exposes the hidden hand of imperialism in the country’s rush to capitalism. It fills a gap in understanding the real contradictions that divide Kenya to this day.

It was a cold, dark night. Everything was quiet. A Mawingo bus was travelling from Nairobi to Mom... more It was a cold, dark night. Everything was quiet. A Mawingo bus was travelling from Nairobi to Mombasa. It had big signs painted on the outside: Danger- man. It had travelled over two hundred kilometres and was approaching Mtito Andei. Everybody in the bus was fast asleep. Everyone, that is, except four people

So begins an adventure for four Kenyan youths, two boys and two girls, that explores the depth of deprivation and disaster that capitalism has been for working people in Kenya. Tricked into becoming forced workers for a factory with owners from USA, Britain and Japan, the youth live the harsh life of exploited workers. However, their sense of justice soon turns them into rebels seeking life and freedom. The story takes them through life-threatening adventures, fighting the armed forces summoned by the factory owners. Will they manage to survive the brutal attacks by fierce dogs and armed militia? Will they live to see the sea at Mombasa they had set out for?

This is the first number in the Research and Documentation (R&D) series. It covers a shameful per... more This is the first number in the Research and Documentation (R&D) series. It covers a shameful period of the past under the Moi-KANU government as it stifled violently people’s desire for change, equality and justice. The wounds inflicted on people cannot even begin to be healed unless the full extent of the problem is first brought out in the public domain. Over the years, some material has even been lost or destroyed, as happened when the departing British colonial government dumped huge amount of material on Kenyan history in the Indian Ocean1, burnt it or simply hid them in dark corners of Britain, denying all knowledge of such theft until forced to do so by court action of veteran Mau Mau activists. After independence, many records were destroyed by activists or colleagues to protect them from the GSU and the Special Branch torturers. Such was the case when the entire archive of Pio Gama Pinto was destroyed to prevent it from getting into the hands of torturers and their political masters. The same happened to the collection of Ambubhai Patel when he tried to save it from ruling class destroyers. Kenya’s history is poorer for the loss of the pioneering works of such activists. And there are many more such cases.

Crimes of Capitalism in Kenya is a collection of contemporary press cuttings which provides a gli... more Crimes of Capitalism in Kenya is a collection of contemporary press cuttings which provides a glimpse of the violent rule of the Moi-KANU government in the 1980s-1990s in Kenya. It documents how the government stifled violently people’s desire for change, equality and justice. The book contends that the crimes of the first two Presidents of Kenya should not be seen only as evil actions of dictators. Rather, it was the comprador ruling class, acting as agents of imperialism, which used state violence to impose capitalism and suppressed calls for socialism.

The Kenya Socialist, 2019

The Kenya Socialist will: • Promote socialist ideas, experiences and world outlook • Increase awa... more The Kenya Socialist will:
• Promote socialist ideas, experiences and world outlook
• Increase awareness of classes, class contradictions and class struggles in Kenya, both historical and current
• Expose the damage done by capitalism and imperialism in Kenya and Africa
• Offer solidarity to working class, peasants and other working people and communities in their struggles for equality and justice
• Promote internationalism and work in solidarity with people in Africa and around the world in their resistance to imperialism
• Make explicit the politics of information and communication as tools of repression and also of resistance in Kenya

The Kenya Socialist, 2019

“The Kenya Socialist” seeks to promote socialist ideas and socialist world outlook. It will pro... more “The Kenya Socialist” seeks to promote socialist ideas and socialist world outlook. It will provide the missing socialist perspective on issues of national interest. It is not neutral and is committed to supporting people’s resistance to capitalism and imperialism whose ideology has been made the prevailing force since independence, while the voice of socialism has been systematically and forcefully silenced.

Vita Books Publications List, 2019

Publications List for Vita Books, 2019. Includes a new journal, The Kenya Socialist (to go live ... more Publications List for Vita Books, 2019. Includes a new journal, The Kenya Socialist (to go live later this year) and three new titles for 2019-20

Forthcoming Two Paths Ahead The Ideological Struggle for the Liberation of Kenya 1960-1990 Shira... more Forthcoming

Two Paths Ahead
The Ideological Struggle for the Liberation of Kenya
1960-1990
Shiraz Durrani
ISBN:

The battles between socialism and capitalism in Kenya have been long, bitter and violent. Capitalism won with the active support of USA and UK governments at the time of independence in 1963. Yet the original Kenya African National Union (KANU) Party was in favour of socialism. It was Presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel wrap Moi who used violence to suppress socialism and assassinated, disappeared, exiled or imprisoned its adherents. Capitalism became the unstated state policy. However, the desire for socialism never died. Resistance movements and opposition parties made socialism their aim, reflecting people’s desire for justice, equality and empowerment.

Many studies on Kenya focus on personalities or ‘tribes’ or race, ignoring the all-important class and ideological position of organisations and their leaders. Two Paths Ahead examines the Kenyatta and Moi governments’ support for capitalism and contrasts it with the socialist stand of the original KANU Party, the Kenya People’s Union (KPU), the December Twelve Movement and Mwakenya as well as the voice of the 1982 coup leaders. This long history of socialism has also been suppressed by forces of capitalism represented by all Kenyan governments since independence.
This book traces the battles between the two ideologies. It looks at the struggle at the Lumumba Institute in the 1960s. It examines the position on land, social policy and worker rights through documents and actions of the opposing sides. It traces the stand of key leaders as proponents of either capitalism or socialism. The final section reproduces some of the documents which inform discussions on the ideological struggle in Kenya. The book exposes the hidden hand of imperialism in the country’s rush to capitalism. It fills a gap in understanding the real contradictions that divide Kenya to this day.

TO BE PUBLISHED in October 2018 (NAIROBI:Vita Books) Pio Gama Pinto was born in Kenya on March 31... more TO BE PUBLISHED in October 2018 (NAIROBI:Vita Books)
Pio Gama Pinto was born in Kenya on March 31, 1927. He
was assassinated in Nairobi on February 24, 1965. In his short
life, he became a symbol of anti-imperialist struggles in Kenya
as well as in Goa in India. He was actively involved with Mau Mau during Kenya’s war of independence. He was detained by the British colonial authorise from 1954-59. His contribution to the struggle for liberation for working people spanned two continents - Africa and Asia. And it covered two phases of imperialism - colonialism in Kenya and Goa and neo-colonialism in Kenya after independence. His enemies saw no way of stopping the intense, lifelong struggle waged by Pinto - except through an assassin's bullets. But his contribu- tion, his ideas, and his ideals are remembered and upheld even today by people active in liberation struggles.
Pinto in his own words
It had become increasingly obvious that“constitutional”,“non-violent” methods of fighting for one’s rights were absolutely futile in dealing with the settler-colo- nial administration. Organised violence was the only answer”. (1963).
Kenya’s Uhuru must not be transformed into freedom to exploit, or freedom to be hungry and live in ignorance. Uhuru must be Uhuru for the masses - Uhuru from exploitation, from ignorance, disease and poverty (1963).
Pinto was assassinated by the regime on 24 February 1965 and Kenya has yet to replace him - Donald Barnett (1972).
Pio Pinto fell on the battlefield in our common war against neo-colonialism. Along with the immortal Patrice Lumumba ... he has joined the ranks of our martyrs whose blood must be avenged. In such honourable company, his death will recruit new armies of Pintos to continue the fight in which he died [in] the effort to create a united socialist Africa - John K. Tettegah. (1966

Kenya’s War of Independence restores Kenya’s stolen history to its rightful place, stripped of co... more Kenya’s War of Independence restores Kenya’s stolen history to its rightful place, stripped of colonial interpretations. In this expanded and revised version of his 1986 booklet, Kimaathi, Mau Mau’s First Prime Minister of Kenya, Durrani covers Mau Mau’s resistance to colonialism and neo-colonialism and re ects on its ideology, organisation and achievements. He sees Mau Mau in the larger context of Kenya’s war of independence and looks at the in uence of organised, radical trade unions as the engine of resistance, linking economic with political demands of working people. Additional chapters document the post-independence resistance by the underground December Twelve Movement-Mwakenya.
Durrani captures the dynamism of transition from colonialism to neo-colonialism: “Imperialism replaced colonialism, African elites replaced White Settlers, neo-colonial government replaced colonial government. Resistance changed from the War of Independence to War of Economic Independence. Worker and peasant resistance is evident once again. History is on the march”.

Presentation at a book launch, 2022

The launch of this book today has a special significance for Vita Books, for two reasons. First, ... more The launch of this book today has a special significance for Vita Books, for two reasons. First, it is launching a book by Willy Mutunga who has 'blazed the trail in starting many important public conversations about re-making Kenya and the wider world into a better society'-just what Vita Books is also all about. But you will hear more about the book and the author from other speakers at the launch.

SOAS, 2015

This panel discussion at SOAS on 19-10-2015 titled "Commemorating the Life of Radical Kenyan Trad... more This panel discussion at SOAS on 19-10-2015 titled "Commemorating the Life of Radical Kenyan Trade Unionist and National Liberation Activist Makhan Singh" was held at the South Asia Institute at SOAS University of London on 5 October 2015.

This event commemorates the life of Makhan Singh (1913-1973) who was a radical trade unionist, revolutionary, and activist in Kenya. He was imprisoned, detained, and exiled for over 15 years by the colonial authorities in India and Kenya for his outspoken stance on the imperatives of national liberation of the East African Territories. He dedicated his life to social, economic and political liberation and was an ardent campaigner for the rights of all workers in Kenya in speaking out against the regimes of colonialism and imperialism.

The event will not only highlight this important yet overlooked labour and anti-colonial history but will also bring together voices of activists, family members, and commentators who will reflect on this history of the labour movement in Kenya and on Makhan Singh’s life.

An edited volume (edited by Shiraz Durrani, Vita Books: London) which explores various aspects of Makhan Singh’s life will be released at this event.

Speakers

Judith Heyer, Emeritus Fellow, Somerville College, University of Oxford
Mary Davis, Visiting Professor in Labour History, Royal Holloway, University of London
Shiraz Durrani, Kenyan activist in exile; (Retired) Senior Lecturer, London Metropolitan University
Sukant Chandan, activist and film-maker
Dr. Inderjit Jabbal-Gill (Daughter of Makhan Singh)
Arvinder S. Jabbal (Grandson of Makhan Singh)
This event will be chaired by Dr Navtej Purewal.

Presentation at the Kenya Library & Information Association Regional Conference. Nairobi. July 31... more Presentation at the Kenya Library & Information Association Regional Conference. Nairobi. July 31 – August 02, 2013
BUILDING AND MANAGING STRONG LIBRARIES

Presentation based on Kenya's War of Independence (Nairobi: Vita Books).

The Pio Gama Pinto Story, Legacy of Resistance in Kenya. Book Launch, Nairobi March 2019

The Role of Alternative Information in the Liberation Struggle Discussion led by Shiraz Durrani. ... more The Role of Alternative Information in the Liberation Struggle
Discussion led by Shiraz Durrani. Nairobi. September 10, 2016

Presentation on Mau Mau, the Kenyan armed resistance movement against British colonialism. (2014)

Talk on Makhan Singh, the revolitionary Kenyan trade unionist, to mark 100 years of his birth on ... more Talk on Makhan Singh, the revolitionary Kenyan trade unionist, to mark 100 years of his birth on August 13, 2013, Nairobi, Kenya. Revised.

Presentation, 2019

The Liberating Minds event was held at the Mathare Social Justice Centre, Nairobi on October 26, ... more The Liberating Minds event was held at the Mathare Social Justice Centre, Nairobi on October 26, 2019. It was sponsored by the Social Justice Centre Working Group, the Ukombozi Library, the Revolutionary Socialist League and Vita Books. Collectively, they are a progressive group of organisations seeking social justice and are also active in the communications field.
The event was organised to mark the 3rd Biennial Conference of the African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA), held at the United States International University-Africa, Nairobi, from October 24-26, 2019. However, unlike at the ASAA Conference, the delegates and participants at the Mathare event were not from any academic community but real-life activists and intellectuals, rarely seen at academic conferences but who are often turned into specimen of development or poverty ‘experts’, examined under academic microscope in fulfilment of PhD and funding requirements.

Presentation based on the book by Shiraz Durrani (2023): "Two Paths Ahead: The Ideological Strugg... more Presentation based on the book by Shiraz Durrani (2023): "Two Paths Ahead: The Ideological Struggle between Capitalism and Socialism in Kenya". Nairobi: Vita Books.

Presentation based on several boos by Shiraz Durrani

Presentation on British colonialism in Kenya, based on the book: Kenya's War of Independence: Mau... more Presentation on British colonialism in Kenya, based on the book: Kenya's War of Independence: Mau Mau and its Legacy of Resistance to Colonialism and Imperialism, 1946-1990' By Shiraz Durrani. 2018. Nairobi, Vita Books

Presentation based on the book, "Pio Gama Pinto: Kenya's Unsung Martyr, 1927-1965.'. Nairobi, Vi... more Presentation based on the book, "Pio Gama Pinto: Kenya's Unsung Martyr, 1927-1965.'. Nairobi, Vita Books.

Discussion in Nairobi. September10, 2016

Presentation on Makhan Singh on October3, 2013 in Nairobi. Highlights of the presentation are ava... more Presentation on Makhan Singh on October3, 2013 in Nairobi. Highlights of the presentation are available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CByviTH5HC0

From Mau Mau to RutoMustGo , 2024

The Booklet explains some background to the current resistance in Kenya. During the implementatio... more The Booklet explains some background to the current resistance in Kenya. During the implementation of the IMF-inspired budget, people have said
Tumechoka! and Tunakataa!.[We arre tired! We Refuse!] This is the RutoMustGo movement, sometimes referred to as the resistance of the GenZ. The resistance did not grow out of a vacuum. The young generation, well educated and articulate could not be absorbed into the
economic life of the country. They remained unemployed and voiceless as local industries were suppressed and the economy returned to the colonial model of serving the needs of imperialism, not the people. Thus, the last ten years of so has seen a people’s movement to learn, study and
understand lessons of how capitalism and imperialism have captured the country and driven people to poverty.

Confrence Paper: Mau Mau Conference. University of Nairobi October 16-18, 2024

This article examines the Mau Mau movement in Kenya, exploring its historical significance and th... more This article examines the Mau Mau movement in Kenya, exploring its historical significance and the reasons behind its marginalisation from official narratives. The author argues that the movement's legacy is deliberately suppressed due to its radical nature and its challenge to colonial and post-colonial rule, particularly its focus on land redistribution. The article also highlights the movement's achievements, such as its successful organisation, the creation of liberated areas, and the development of a sophisticated infrastructure, including hospitals and weapons factories.