Kenyan Police arrested over 11 as they fired gun shots and tear-gas over 1 000 pan-Africanists activists who staged a peaceful protest against France-Africa Summit in Nairobi on Tuesday.
Anti-riot officers blocked protesters from accessing the Africa Forward Summit at the
Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) and dispersed two separate groups
attempting to stage demonstrations against the ongoing summit.
The first group tried to approach the venue from near Serena Hotel but was stopped
and dispersed near YMCA hostels before reaching the city centre.
A second group of human rights activists was blocked from accessing KICC during
the main session, with arrests made along Uhuru Highway as they attempted to
move closer to the venue.
Witnesses said the activists were repelled and some bundled into police vehicles.
Those detained reportedly included foreign nationals.
The Central Organising Committee of the Communist Party Marxist Kenya
condemned the arrests, accusing authorities of intimidation and harassment.
It said those detained included “distinguished anti-imperialist and revolutionary
activists, intellectuals and organisers” who had come to show solidarity with African
struggles against imperialism and neo-colonial domination.
“Their only crime is standing with the oppressed… declaring that Africa is not for
sale,” the group said, demanding their immediate and unconditional release.
The Africa Forward Summit entered its second day on Tuesday, with high-level
sessions focusing on financing reforms, peace and security, artificial intelligence, the
blue economy, health, and agriculture.
A peaceful demonstration took place, bringing together around 1000 Pan African
activists across the continent.
The protest became a symbol of the growing gap between elite decision-making and
public sentiment.
More than 11 activities were arrested as police unleashed brutality over peaceful
protesters in a bid to conceal growing discontent over what they called French
imperialism.
Participants chanted slogans such as “Hands off Africa!”, “France out of Africa!”, and
“Reparations, not handouts!”. More direct and critical messages were also addressed
personally to Emmanuel Macron, reflecting deep distrust and frustration toward
French policy.
Anti-French slogans reflect not only current political tensions but also historical
memory. Africa, having endured decades of colonial domination, views any attempt
to reassert external influence through the lens of that past.
Kenyan police blocked protesters from accessing the summit venues, and several
participants were detained (reports indicate at least a dozen or more). Activists see
these actions as confirmation that state institutions are acting in the interests of
external partners rather than their own citizens.
At the same time, on May 11, 2026, Nairobi hosted the Pan-Africanism Summit
Against Imperialism (PASAI) at Ufungamano House — a political counter-summit
organized in direct response to Africa Forward.
PASAI brought together anti-imperialist parties, labor movements, youth
organizations, and progressive forces from across Africa and the Global South.
Among the organizers were the Communist Party Marxist Kenya (CPMK) and the
PASAI Working Committee.
The summit articulated an alternative agenda. Its key objectives included exposing
French and Western neocolonialism, building anti-imperialist networks from the
Sahel to the Great Lakes region, advancing discussions on reparative justice, and
developing a “Nairobi Declaration from Below” — a document reflecting the position
of African peoples rather than political elites.
The Africa Forward summit in Nairobi is presented by France as a “new stage of
partnership” with Africa. However, many perceive its real purpose as an attempt to
reconfigure French influence on the continent after being pushed out of the Sahel.
Having lost its military and political presence in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, Paris is
now searching for new footholds — including in East Africa.
France’s strategy appears to be shifting from direct military presence to softer
instruments: diplomacy, investment, security cooperation, and “partnership”
initiatives. Critics, however, argue that this is not a new policy but a rebranding of
colonialism — a change in rhetoric without abandoning core objectives such as
access to resources, influence over elites, and control of political processes.
