A Lecture at United Kenya Club by Booker Ngesa Omole, General Secretary of the Communist Party Marxist Kenya

March 27, 2025

Comrades, friends, and esteemed members of the United Kenya Club, good evening.

We are here to discuss the struggle between old and new perspectives on Kenyan development. This is not an abstract debate; it is a matter of life and death for our people. The question before us is simple: Will Kenya move forward, or will it remain shackled by outdated, reactionary ideas?

I commend the organisers for choosing such a timely topic. Since the Gen Z uprising, the public sphere has been filled with talk of young versus old, new versus outdated. This debate has been framed as a generational conflict. It is not. I will return to this later.

When I was invited to speak, I hesitated. Not because I feared the topic, but because I wondered: Is this the right audience for such a discussion? But when I saw that I would share this platform with Comrade Ngotho Kariuki, my doubts faded. I have long known Ngotho as a fellow revolutionary. I now recognise him as a tax expert as well after the event posters were out. He has paid a heavy price for standing with the people. His presence here is inspiring. I also acknowledge my friends Felix Okatch and Oduor Noah, who introduced me to this club.

I must be frank. I struggled with the idea of joining this club. It has a colonial legacy, and I was sceptical. But history is full of contradictions. This club was the first private members’ club in colonial Kenya to break racial barriers. It played a role in challenging discrimination. That alone is worth recognising.

On a lighter note, let me speak of how revolutionary ideas are treated in society. Our ideas, even when correct, are seen as dangerous. We challenge the status quo. We unsettle those who cling to decaying traditions. This puts us in conflict with institutions; professional bodies, the corporate world, even academia.

The organisers of this event struggled with how to introduce me. Should they call me an engineer? A philosopher? Should they associate me with an institution? The convectional Institutions hesitate to lay a claim on us, given the battles we have fought there. In the end, I was introduced as a communist leader, a socialist, a ‘Mr,’ and an engineer. This small matter reveals something important; people tiptoe around revolutionary ideas. They fear them, yet they also respect the strength of conviction behind them.

Let there be no confusion. I am a communist. I am the General Secretary of the Communist Party Marxist Kenya. I am a revolutionary. Like many gallant comrades, I have dedicated my life to organising the poor; the workers in Nairobi’s slums, the marginalised in the countryside; to seize political power and determine their own future. This is our mission. This is our collective duty.

The Struggle Between Old and New Ideas

Now, to our topic; the struggle between old and new perspectives on Kenyan development. This analysis is grounded in Marxism, specifically dialectical and historical materialism. I will also use science to move beyond abstract philosophy and into concrete reality.

To understand development; or its absence; I urge you to read Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. This is not just a book. It is a weapon. It exposes how colonialism and imperialism strangled Africa’s development. Many of you are in academia or intellectuals. Be honest. Our education system does not produce critical thinkers. It manufactures people who parrot the ideology of the ruling class. I am here to break those chains.

In our Party, we describe the clash between the old and the new as ‘the miracle of the green and the grey.’ But there is a dangerous distortion today. Some frame this as a war between young and old. This is false. Class, not age, determines whether one lives in dignity or misery in Kenya.

A poor old person and a poor young person suffer the same oppression. The only difference is that old age brings additional burdens. The youth have energy. The elderly have wisdom. Both must be harnessed for revolution. But not all old people hold the right ideas. Some uphold tribalism and reaction. They must be challenged. This is not a war between generations. It is a battle between revolutionary ideas and the rotting corpse of the past.

Where do ideas come from? They do not fall from the sky. They emerge from material conditions. New ideas must build on the correct aspects of the old while ruthlessly discarding what is false. If old ideas are rooted in lies, they will collide with reality and be swept away. This is the law of history.

Development: For the People or Against Them?

What is development? If we strip away empty slogans, it takes two forms. Either it serves the people, or it serves a parasitic elite. If it does not serve the people, it is not development; it is plunder.

The old perspective of development is not necessarily held by old people. Many young people today cling to reactionary ideas. Tribalism. Superstition. Worship of foreign capital. These are not confined to age. They are drilled into us through colonial education. Students are taught that Kenya cannot develop without foreign investment, without aid, without the goodwill of the West. This is a lie. A poisonous lie.

The new perspective is not new simply because the youth hold it. It is new because it breaks with colonial thinking and puts Kenya’s destiny in the hands of its people.

What holds Kenya back? Three things:

1. The colonial legacy of land theft.

Land is the foundation of production. But in Kenya, it is hoarded by thieves; foreign corporations, a handful of families, even the church; while millions suffer. Without land reform, there is no development. Kenya needs large-scale mechanised agriculture to fuel industry, create demand for steel, and drive industrialisation.

2. The miseducation system.

Our education does not serve Kenya. It serves imperialism. It must be overhauled. Decolonised. Made a tool for national development.

3. The comprador bourgeoisie.

These are the agents of imperialism who manage Kenya’s wealth for the West. They import cheap, substandard goods. They sabotage local production. They profit from underdevelopment. They must be exposed and defeated.

Development is impossible under the current system of chaos, greed, and plunder. We need more than political independence. We need economic independence. We must make Kenya sovereign in reality, not just in name. This means defeating the billionaire parasites who have hijacked the state. This is why the Communist Party Marxist Kenya exists; to lead this fight and win it.

The National Democratic Revolution (NDR): The Path Forward

What stops Kenya from achieving real development? The answer is clear. We remain trapped in a system that serves foreign interests and a corrupt elite. The struggle for independence was the first step. But true liberation means seizing control of our economy, our resources, and our future. This is the task of the National Democratic Revolution.

The NDR is not a slogan. It is a necessity. It means:

1. Liberating Kenya from neo-colonialism.

Our wealth must serve Kenyans, not foreign corporations.

2. Uniting all patriotic forces against the corrupt elite.

The enemy is not one person. It is an entire class that serves imperialism.

3. Laying the foundation for socialism.

The NDR is the bridge between neocolonial Kenya and a socialist Kenya.

The struggle for development is not just economic. It is ideological. Ideas shape action. The fight between old and new perspectives is not about age. It is about truth versus falsehood. About progress versus stagnation. The future belongs to those who grasp this truth and act upon it.

Kenya must break free. And we, the people, must lead that charge!