Communist Party Marxist – Kenya

The Communist Party Marxist – Kenya (CPMK), also known as the Marxist Communist Party of Kenya (MCPK), is a political movement in Kenya that was formed by Booker Ngesa after a split from the Communist Party of Kenya (CPK) in 2024.
The Communist Party of Kenya (CPK) was founded as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1992 by Johnstone Makau, initially positioning itself as a centre-left political force during the first wave of multi-party elections in Kenya. The party gained national prominence during the 1997 general elections, where its presidential candidate, Charity Ngilu, secured a notable 5th position with 7.9% of the national votes. The party also won 15 seats in the National Assembly. However, after the presidential flag bearer Ngilu left the party in 2001, its performance in the 2002 elections was poor under the leadership of James Orengo. Orengo, who took over as the party's chairman and presidential candidate, received just 0.42% of the vote in the presidential elections and the party also lost all 15 seats in the National Assembly. The same poor performance continued in the 2007 general elections where the party received just 0.41% of the national vote and all 24 candidates who were fielded were unable to secure a win in the National Assembly.
After encountering setbacks in the general elections of 2002 and 2007, the party underwent a transformative phase in 2011. Over time, the party experienced significant ideological transformations adapting its ideological orientation from social democracy to communism and political positioning. By the late 2000s, a Marxist–Leninist faction, led by prominent figures such as Mwandawiro Mghanga, Benedict Wachira and Booker Ngesa Omole, began to steer the party towards a socialist trajectory. The faction called for a transformation in Kenya's political landscape, emphasising the need for revolutionary change to address class inequalities, imperialist exploitation, and capitalist oppression in Kenya.
Members of the Young Socialist League, including future leaders Booker Ngesa and Benedict Wachira, led a shift towards embracing a fully socialist ideology grounded in Marxism–Leninism in 2013. The SDP leadership of the time, Mutahi Kagwe and Njeri Ndwiga, was replaced. Mwandawiro Mghanga assumed the role of national chairman, with Ngesa and Wachira assuming the key positions of national vice chairperson and secretary general, respectively.
In 2019, the party officially changed its name from the Social Democratic Party to the Communist Party of Kenya, solidifying its commitment to socialist principles after obtaining full registration as a Communist Party. As a registered socialist political party, it became the first socialist party in Kenya since the 1965 constitutional ban by the government of Kenya under sessional paper number 10.
In April 2022, senior party leaders Benedict Wachira and Mwandawiro Mghanga joined the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, leading to an internal crisis. The Kenya Kwanza faction resolved to expel Booker Omole, the national vice chairman and organising secretary, as he was the most prominent of the senior leaders who questioned and opposed the decision to join the coalition. The national vice chairman appealed the duo's decision with the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal, and the court disallowed it.
Acknowledging the split as against party policy going into the 2022 elections and citing the ex-chairman's alleged illegitimacy of Mghanga, the Booker-led faction reconstituted and Kinuthia Ndung'u was elected as the national chairman, Booker Ngesa got two positions: the national vice chairman and organising secretary, while Sefu Sani was elected as the secretary general.
Following the 2022 split, the Booker-led faction of the Communist Party of Kenya held the party's Second National Congress held in November 2024. The congress was themed "Advancing the National Democratic Revolution for a Truly Independent Socialist Kenya," emphasizing a commitment to socialism and the fight against exploitation and imperialism. This event marked an official renaming of the party to the Communist Party Marxist – Kenya (CPMK). With this move, and with the CPMK ratified by the members of CPK, the Booker-led faction officially split from the Communist Party of Kenya to become a socialist movement in Kenya.
The CPMK positions itself within the Marxist–Leninist tradition, advocating for a revolutionary and class-based struggle to dismantle the capitalist system in Kenya. The movement's primary focus is on grassroots mobilization among Kenya's workers and the oppressed, exploited majority. It also emphasizes the unfinished goals of Kenya's original struggle for independence, especially those espoused by Dedan Kimathi, the leader of the Mau Mau Rebellion against British colonial rule.
In November 2024, the CPMK delegates elected new leadership In the restructured leadership, the movement assigned to Booker Omole, who previously held the titles of the National Vice-chairperson and National Organising Secretary as the new General Secretary and leader. The leadership structure is as follows: