Southbound Initiative is raising funds for the Kimathi Political School in Kenya. This political school will be a space for progressive and anti-imperialist organizers in Kenya to meet, network, learn, and organize together. This is an important project for multiple left-wing organizations in Kenya, who have shared the information below about the school.

Kimathi Political School is in the process of being established near Nanyuki town, in Laikipia County, about 180 Kilometres from Nairobi City. The school is an initiative of various collectives, including Mathare Social Justice Centre, Mashujaa Heritage Archives/RPP Resource Centre, Social Justice Travelling Theatre, Organic Intellectuals Network, Ecological Justice Network, Ukombozi Library, among other progressive social movements and political organizations in Kenya. Kimathi Political School is projected to provide a space for political training and create a platform for mass education and research. The school will also act as a safe space and liberated zone for political organizing and strategizing. Some of the proposed engagements of the Kimathi Political School include; organizing ideological convenings and training camps, hosting progressive social movements and political organizations, meetings of youth movements and programs, a library, trainings and research.

The land on which Kimathi Political School is being established has been gracefully donated to the collective by comrade Mugo Theuri and his family. Mugo Theuri, a veteran of the second liberation struggles in Kenya bought the land on which the school will be established from the proceeds of his compensation from torture and ill treatment during the regime of the Moi – KANU dictatorship in 1980s. Mugo Theuri is the author of an autobiographical book titled, Threads of Time: Torture, Imprisonment and a Quest for Social Justice. He was working as journalist for the Standard Newspaper when he was arrested in September, 1986. The donation by Mugo and his family symbolizes the role that all revolutionaries should play in developing intellectuals and new cadres of revolutionary movements in Kenya, Africa and globally. Kimathi Political School will thus act as an incubation centre for ideological cadres and a space to organize for social movements and progressive politics.

Kimathi Political School continues the long cherished tradition of political schools in Kenya and Africa. Such schools include the ‘forest’ schools of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army, popularly known as Mau Mau Movement. The school also draws inspiration and heritage from the defunct Lumumba Institute that was established in 1960s by some left – leaning politicians led by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Pio Gama Pinto, Bildad Kaggia, among others to train ideological party cadres in the new republic. Kimathi Political School is thus viewed as the rebirth of Lumumba Institute, now being propelled by social movements and progressive organizations in Kenya. The school also draws inspiration from the study cells in prisons, popularly known as ‘liberation university’ where political activists were incarcerated in the dark days of the one – party dictatorship in Kenya. The school converges various ideological study cells by progressive political parties, social justice centres/movement, organic intellectuals network, Ukombozi Library, Feminist Collectives, among others. In Africa, Kimathi Political School draws its inspiration from Nkrumah Political School in South Africa and Amilcar Cabral Political School in Ghana. Whereas there have been notable attempts to raise the consciousness and popular education in the various fronts and formations in Kenya, there lacks a harmonized curriculum as a guide to common practice. Kimathi Political School will fill the need for a synchronized syllabus that would act as a lead and anchor for various social movements and progressive organizations. This would in turn create a unified approach and a common trajectory among the new generation of activists. This would in effect cement ideological grounding and resilience through a sustainable pool of popular educators and mass organizing for ideological social change in Kenya and Africa.

The school aims to bring together cadres and members from various progressive organizations to debate the vision, engage in creative ideas and generate an actionable work plan for the school. This will allow training for cadres from the various mass movements and political institutions to meet often, design political programs, exchange ideas and create a plan to implement the ideas in our society. The first cohort of the inaugural ideological school will involve participants who will design the overall outlook and operations of the political school. Representatives for the ideological school will involve members from the Social Justice Movement, the Ecological Justice network, Organic Intellectuals Network, Feminist movements, Social Justice Travelling Theatre, among other progressive social movements and political organizations. Towards these efforts, we have established a collective fundraiser to support costs of the ideological school, and to achieve the overall mission and vision of the school. We are therefore appealing to all those called for the cause for freedom, social justice and Pan – Africanism to offer both financial and moral solidarity.

List of Needs (in Kenyan shillings):

Help Build the Kimathi School in Kenya

By Southbound Initiative

Help Build the Kimathi School in Kenya

By donating you are helping contribute books, technology, and other resources to a school for community activists on the ground in Nanyuki town, Laikipia County, Kenya named after Dedan Kimathi of the Mau Mau movement.