Reject Neo-Colonialism! Reject Imperialism! Stand with the People’s Resistance in Kenya

The Pan Africanism Today Secretariat stands in unwavering solidarity with the courageous people of Kenya who have taken to the streets of Nairobi to denounce the latest encroachment of imperialism: the France-Africa Summit. We commend our comrades in Kenya for having organised the Pan Africanism Summit Against Imperialism from 11 to 12 May to counter and expose France’s attempt to reconfigure its influence and extractive agenda in Africa. 

For decades, the tentacles of Françafrique have strangled the sovereignty of the peoples of West and Central Africa through economic strangulation, military interventions, the continued extraction of mineral wealth, and more. Having been rightfully rejected and expelled by popular movements in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, France is now desperately seeking to expand its sphere of influence into Anglophone Africa. We recognise the France-Africa Summit in Nairobi for what it truly is: a predatory attempt to “rebrand” French imperialism and secure new African markets at the expense of true African sovereignty and self-determination.

The events of the past several days have exposed the violent reality behind the rhetoric of “partnership”. We condemn in the strongest terms the Kenyan state’s use of tear gas and the arbitrary arrest of activists who organised the Pan Africanism Summit Against Imperialism. We demand  the immediate and unconditional release of all activists. The calculated violence meted out against African people for peacefully protesting the presence of an imperialist foreign power is a betrayal of the liberation struggles that birthed our nations. We commend all those who have declared that Africa is NOT for sale. From the streets of Nairobi to the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the message is clear: the African masses reject Françafrique in all its forms. We see through the French government’s strategic shift toward East Africa. This is not a gesture of genuine cooperation but a calculated move to salvage a dying empire by courting new proxies and lackeys of imperialism.

The era of bowing to external imperialist masters is over. We must all take lessons on how the peoples of the Alliance of Sahel States are doing the difficult patriotic, revolutionary work of concretely forging a new, unified path that advances the aspirations of the people. The spirit of Dedan Kimathi and the giants of our liberation era lives on in the African peoples who remain committed to a totally liberated, unified, and socialist Africa.

Down with imperialism! Down with neo-colonialism! Long live solidarity! Long live Pan Africanism!

In solidarity, 

The Pan Africanism Today Secretariat