The development and maintenance of a revolutionary socialist ideology and common goals within Kenya’s working class is a difficult and complicated process that needs close attention to both theory and practise.
Theoretically, it is crucial to create a compelling socialist ideology for Kenya that is based on both the country’s oppressed and working-class population’s material circumstances and is linked to their unique struggles and ambitions. This ideology need to be grounded in a Marxist understanding of the class struggle and the capitalist ruling class’s exploitation of the working class. It should also describe a socialist society where the working class owns and controls the means of production collectively and where there is no longer any exploitation or oppression of the working class.
To put these socialist ideals into action, it is essential to unite a significant portion of Kenya’s working class and build a force strong enough to take on both the capitalist system and the capitalist ruling class. The conventional means of political and social organisation, such as the creation of socialist-leaning trade unions, workers’ cooperatives, and socialist political parties, and direct action strategies like strikes, protests, and other kinds of mass mobilisation are effective ways to accomplish this. Civil resistance and nonviolent civil disobedience are other methods of mass mobilisation.
Propaganda and education are two other crucial elements of a prosperous socialist movement in Kenya. A wide range of written and spoken mediums, including books, newspapers, speeches in public, and rallies, can be used to achieve this goal. Additionally, there is a need to create networks of socialist organisations and activists who can cooperate to advance the socialist cause and build a strong and united socialist movement in Kenya.
It is crucial that Kenya’s working class participate actively and that their worries and ambitions are recognised and taken into account. We must first have a knowledge of the problems that Kenya’s working class deals with on a daily basis before working to create a movement that specifically tackles those problems if we are to meet their needs and aspirations. We won’t be able to satisfy the wants and expectations of the working class till then. Collaboration with other progressive organisations, such as those promoting racial and gender equality, might aid in the development of a strong and diverse socialist movement in Kenya that is capable of confronting the country’s capitalist system and ruling class.
In summery, it is essential to have a convincing socialist ideology, practical organising, education, and propaganda, as well as build networks of socialist activists and organisations, actively engage the working class, and collaborate with other progressive movements in Kenya in order to promote a collective, revolutionary socialist ideology and goals among Kenya’s working class.
Okoth Osewe