By Mwaivu Kaluka, National Chairperson, Communist Party Marxist, Kenya
May 4, 2025
“While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.” – Thomas Sankara
The Communist Party Marxist, Kenya (CPMK) strongly condemns the recent failed coup attempt in Burkina Faso, orchestrated by the United States of America and France through their regional and local proxies. This cowardly imperialist attack once again proves Sankara’s words: imperialism is a bad student; it never learns from its failures. It continues to repeat the same tired tactics to depose any government that refuses to submit to its domination. Yet, Burkina Faso, the Land of Upright People, is standing tall, a beacon of hope and defiance for the emancipation of the African continent.
Since 30th September 2022, when Captain Ibrahim Traoré deposed Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba (himself a product of imperialist compromise), Burkina Faso has transformed from a weak outpost of foreign finance capital into a strong, sovereign, self-reliant nation. Under the leadership of Traoré and the revolutionary forces, Burkina Faso has charted a new path: a National Democratic path, free from the dictates of the Bretton Woods institutions and the economic stranglehold of the CFA franc zone.
The prioritisation of agriculture through the mass distribution of tractors, motor pumps and farming equipment has led to surging production in key crops such as tomatoes, cotton and millet. This agricultural revival is fuelling industrial growth. Tomato and cotton processing plants are being established. Critical infrastructure is expanding, driven by the needs of the people, not foreign capital.
In the mining sector, which is the backbone of Burkina Faso’s economy, the revolutionary government has taken bold and historic steps. The mines have been nationalised. Western multinationals that plundered the country’s resources have been expelled. The state-of-the-art gold refinery ensures that gold is now processed locally, improving the balance of payments and advancing true economic sovereignty. The creation of a state bank backed by gold reserves is another blow to the imperialist financial system.
These measures have shaken the foundations of imperialist control. The Alliance of Sahel States, made up of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, is proving that Africa is not poor. Rather, Africa is plundered. When we manage our own resources for the benefit of our people, we thrive.
The expulsion of French and U.S. troops has revealed the real function of foreign military bases: to guard the interests of transnational corporations, not to fight terrorism. The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), under the guise of combatting terrorism and migration, has entrenched military occupation across the Sahel. It has secretly funded jihadist movements and enabled piracy. France’s so-called G5 Sahel initiative was a fig leaf for maintaining military control over former colonies.
In contrast, the Sahel Alliance, since signing the Liptako-Gourma Charter in 2023, has made real progress. Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s government has succeeded where Western militaries failed: confronting and defeating terrorism. This progress, alongside the deepening relationship with Russia, marks a turning point. The people of Burkina Faso, disillusioned by decades of Western exploitation, are now raising Russian flags in the streets. This is not out of submission, but in celebration of a new geopolitical alternative.
The recent accusations by AFRICOM Commander General Michael Langley, claiming that Captain Traoré is enriching himself through gold, are a familiar imperialist smear campaign. From Iraq to Libya, the U.S. path to regime change always begins with media lies and psychological warfare. The same imperialist playbook is now being opened in Burkina Faso. Massive funds are flowing to Western propaganda outlets in order to portray the revolution as illegitimate, impoverished and violent.
Meanwhile, ECOWAS and the African Union continue their betrayal of the continent. Their silence, like that of the proverbial ostrich, is complicity. These institutions, dependent on foreign funding, no longer serve African interests. He who pays the piper, calls the tune.
We call upon all progressive peoples of Africa, and all lovers of justice across the world, to stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso and the Alliance of Sahel States. This is no longer just their fight. It is our fight. The imperialists seek to do to Captain Ibrahim Traoré what they did to Nkrumah, Lumumba, Cabral, Machel, Hani, Sankara and Gaddafi.
We cannot sit idly by while NATO and the CIA conspire to crush Africa’s right to self-determination. We must match words with material solidarity. That means support for the Sahel revolution through coordinated international campaigns, boycotts of exploitative corporations, protest actions, and material assistance to progressive governments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
We especially call on the youth of Kenya, Africa and the world. The revolution is young, and it is yours. The future of the continent lies in your hands. Join the struggle. Organise. Mobilise. Educate. Defend this revolution with every fibre of your being.
Imperialism is being defeated in the Sahel. Let us study these revolutions as laboratories of change. Let us see in them the early stages of Africa’s socialist future. Let us learn, replicate and build a continental front of resistance.
This is the moment to delink from imperialism and to force it to submit to our demands, not the other way around. These National Democratic Revolutions, unfolding in neo-colonial states, are cracking the imperialist chain at its weakest links. They are paving the way for a new Africa: socialist, united and free.
The Communist Party Marxist, Kenya expresses its unwavering solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso for standing firm in the face of imperialism.
Long live Burkina Faso!
Long live the Alliance of Sahel States!
Long live African youth and workers!
Down with imperialism!
Comradely,
Mwaivu Kaluka
National Chairperson, Communist Party Marxist, Kenya