By Booker Omole, General Secretary,

Communist Party Marxist Kenya

March 12, 2025

The Communist Party Marxist Kenya (CPMK) is not a debating society but a vanguard party of the Kenyan working class, guided by discipline and revolutionary commitment.

In recent days, we have observed Trotskyist tendencies rearing their ugly head within the Party. We have also interacted with some of our international guests who are Trotskyists. It is imperative to address these issues, particularly for our young cadres. The Party must have the ability to identify Trotskyist deviations and advance the correct policy to combat them effectively.

Trotskyism is not just a set of mistaken ideas. It is a weapon of counter-revolution, a corrosive force that has sabotaged revolutionary movements for over a century. It masquerades as Marxism while undermining the very foundations of revolutionary struggle. It speaks in radical tones, but its essence is betrayal. Wherever Trotskyism takes root, it breeds division, pessimism, and paralysis. The Communist Party Marxist Kenya must meet this threat with absolute clarity and iron discipline.

At its core, Trotskyism is a petty-bourgeois deviation that rejects the hard, disciplined work of building socialism. Trotsky himself stood against Lenin at every critical moment, wavering in 1903, opposing the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917, and later waging a factional war against Stalin and the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. His so-called “Permanent Revolution” was not a theory of revolution but a recipe for disaster; a reckless demand for immediate world upheaval without regard for material conditions. Trotsky rejected Lenin’s strategic approach, dismissing national liberation and the necessity of consolidating proletarian power in one state. In doing so, he opened the door for imperialist interference and counter-revolutionary chaos.

Trotskyism is fundamentally hostile to the revolutionary party. It thrives on factionalism, seeking to weaken and splinter disciplined communist organisations. Where Lenin built the Bolshevik Party into a united force capable of leading the working class to victory, Trotskyite elements have always sought to turn communist parties into debating societies; full of noise, empty of action. They refuse to accept democratic centralism, using endless discussion and “self-criticism” as tools to paralyse the party. They reject unity of action, preferring internal disputes over revolutionary struggle. Their aim is not to strengthen the movement but to drown it in confusion.

The history of Trotskyism is a history of counter-revolutionary sabotage. In the Soviet Union, Trotskyites sided with reactionaries against the socialist state, spreading anti-Soviet propaganda that was eagerly picked up by imperialist forces. During the Spanish Civil War, Trotsky’s followers collaborated with fascist elements, sabotaging the anti-fascist struggle and weakening the Republican forces. Everywhere they appear, Trotskyites serve the interests of the bourgeoisie. They attack real socialist achievements while offering nothing but abstract slogans and empty criticism. They label every revolution a failure, every socialist state a “degenerated workers’ state,” and every disciplined communist party a “Stalinist bureaucracy.” But they themselves have built nothing, led nothing, and won nothing.

Today, Trotskyism takes new forms, but its essence remains the same. It operates through social media, where so-called “critical Marxists” spread anti-party narratives under the guise of radical theory. It infiltrates universities, where bourgeois academics elevate Trotsky while distorting Lenin and Stalin. It uses “entryism,” seeking to worm its way into mass organisations and recruit disillusioned elements to spread dissent. It exploits moments of difficulty, calling for the immediate overthrow of governments instead of organising the masses to build power. These tendencies must be recognised and destroyed.

The fight against Trotskyism is not a matter of theoretical debate but a question of revolutionary survival. To tolerate Trotskyism is to invite chaos, disunity, and collapse. The party must be armed with clear ideological foundations, studying Lenin and Stalin to inoculate itself against Trotskyite distortions. There must be no room for factionalism; democratic centralism must be enforced with iron discipline. Trotskyite elements must be confronted, re-educated where possible, and expelled where necessary.

Trotskyism is not the path to revolution. It is the path to confusion, betrayal, and defeat. The Communist Party Marxist Kenya stands firmly on the side of Marxism-Leninism. It rejects the petty-bourgeois deviations of Trotskyism and upholds the principle that revolution is won not through abstract rhetoric but through disciplined organisation, strategic leadership, and unwavering commitment to the working class. The struggle for socialism demands clarity. It demands unity. And it demands that we give no quarter to opportunism.

The best defence against Trotskyism is a firm grounding in Marxism-Leninism. All cadres must study the foundations of Leninist thought. Key materials include:

            Foundations of Leninism by Stalin

            Marxism and the National Question

            Trotskyism or Leninism? by Stalin

Trotsky’s distortions must be exposed at every turn. His collaboration with counter-revolutionary forces must be made clear. His historical defeats must be understood and studied.

No room for hesitation. No room for compromise. Long live Marxist-Leninist unity!