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The Kenyan Civil War was a period of unrest and conflict within the nation of Kenya that lasted from 2014 until the defeat of the Free State of Kenya in 2021. The war was marked by brutality with major urban centers being turned into warzones and at least 1 million Kenyan refugees being displaced from the country.
Course of the war[]
Background[]
While the Free State would experience an economic boom in the 1980s through free trade with the British, the Kenyan economy would experience economic decline as investors would withdraw from Kenya and focus more on human rights-friendly governments in Africa such as Djibouti and Ethiopia. This economic stagnation lasted through the 1990s and the 2000s. By the 2010s, the economic stagnation had become unbearable for a majority of Kenyan citizens who took to the streets to protest the government. In a speech in 2013, President Kibochi proclaimed that the economic stagnation was being caused by socialists sabotaging the economy from within led by the exiled Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and announced a second major purge to take place throughout 2013.
Civil War[]
Upon the announcement of another purge, several Kenyan citizens took to the streets with portions of the military defecting in favor of the rioters. By January of 2014, the riots had escalated into full on civil war as gunfire had been exchanged between both sides.
In early 2014, a rebel group known as the Coalition for Kenyan Democracy would capture the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa with the support of defectors from both the Kenyan army and Kenyan navy. By mid-2014, the Kenyan military would begin a siege of Mombasa in an attempt to starve out the rebels present in the city.
Despite the shortcomings of the Coalition , other rebels were able to make gains in the capital city of Nairobi itself, with a group of socialist rebels being able to seize control of the neighborhood of Shauri Moyo on January 18th, 2015 to proclaim the Nairobi Commune. The communards were able to conduct several ambushes against Nairobi police and also did some damage to the nearby Moi Airbase, with several communard rioters being able to destroy 2 fighter jets stationed within the airbase before reinforcements would gun them down. The communard revolution provided an opportunity for the coalition forces in Mombasa to break the siege by pushing through the Free State's forces to the east and pushing along side the A109 Highway system, capturing the cities of Mariakani and Mazeras in the process. Kibochi, fearing that the coalition would use route A109 to enter the capital Nairobi. This would result in a bombing campaign lasting from June 2015 to October 2015 which destroyed much of the A109 Highway as well as many of the smaller roads such as the C107. These bombings were successful in stopping advancements by rebel forces, stunting expansion and forcing the coalition to stick towards the Kenyan coast. This would be recognized as an atrocity by the international community and result in lots of sanctions on Kenya, harming the Kiobochi government in the process with the Free State of Kenya's only remaining suppliers being the Swartist Brotherhood. By the end of 2015, the Nairobi Commune had been crushed and it seemed a government victory had become inevitable.
By 2016, General Busara Jones and a group of pro-Socialist military defectors revolt in the northern part of the country. Jones was a top ranking member of the military in both the Socialist Republic and Free State of Kenya. The rebel group styled themselves as the Kenyan People's Army and seized the city of Lodwar and several airplanes and fighter jets from the Lodwar Airport. By June 19th, 2016; the People's Army had seized all lands surrounding Lake Turkana, controlling all lands north of South Horr and west of Marsabit. Meanwhile, the Coalition for Kenyan Democracy would be successful in capturing the city of Garsen on October 2nd, 2016; landing a decisive victory against the Free State's army. The battle of Garsen would mark a turning point where the Free State government would begin to lose the civil war. With the seizing of Lodwar and the Lodwar Airport, the People's Army would begin bombing the Free State's positions in the Lake Naivasha region, this harmed the Free State's supply lines along the A104 highway.
By 2017, the People's Army would begin a massive offensive southwards, capturing the city of Eldoret while gaining air superiority over much of Northwestern Kenya. The Coalition struggled on the other hand as they were forced to defend Gorsen from siege by the Free State which began a campaign against the Coalition in the South with the goal of crushing the coalition in the South in 2017 and the Communists of the North in 2018. As a result, Kibochi tripled the number of forces on the front against the Coalition and began a massive push towards Mombasa. Due to the previous bombing of highway A109, the Free State's army struggled to move through the rough terrain of the Tsavo East savannah and had their offensive halted in the small town of Manyani. With the Free State's army halted at Manyani, the military was forced to resort to shelling and airstriking the Coalition forces in nearby cities and the city of Mombasa itself. After a long and vicious, the Coalition was finally defeated after Mombasa fell on June 17th, 2020. But this victory would be short lived as the People's Army would make massive gains during this three year time period as most of the Free State's military was preoccupied with the battle against the Coalition. On December 28th, 2020; Nairobi would fall and President Kibochi would be forced to relocate to the city of Garissa. During this time, former President and socialist leader Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o returned from exile to lead the People's Army, giving a morale boost towards the Kenyan socialist movement as a whole.
In the morning of February 5th, 2021; the Kenyan People's Army captured the city of Garissa as President Kibochi fled the country after a 1 month struggle for control of the city. Upon hearing of the fall of Garissa, Deputy President William Ruto would surrender around noon. By the end of the day, all of the Free State's forces in Kenya. The Democratic Republic of Kenya would be proclaimed on February 6th, 2021 with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o resuming his role as President.
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