Organic intellectuals

This video is part of the project that Mathare Social Justice Centre, Ukombozi Library and the Organic Intellectuals Network within social movements in Nairobi have organized through Capitalism in My City to strengthen radical political consciousness in Nairobi City.

This video depicts the rise and growth of political consciousness and social justice intellectuals in Mathare, and informal areas around Nairobi. These comrades are motivated to master the art of political freedom and spread its knowledge to the vast majority of inhabitants in these areas. Many of the people interviewed in the video are human rights champions and community organizers.

The interviews took place in the Ukombozi library, a progressive African library in central Nairobi that offers access to reading material of political struggles in Kenya and other parts of Africa. The library has shaped these budding, organic intellectuals and the material they write while reviewing radical books about the history and struggle of the working class in Kenya.

Organic Intellectuals Network

Njeri Mwangi

Njeri Mwangi is a community organizer based in Mathare, where she works with the Mathare Social Justice Centre. She serves as the Chairperson of the Domestic Workers and Waste Pickers Cooperative Society, advocating for workers’ rights, dignity, and collective empowerment. Her work is rooted in grassroots organizing, and she is passionate about building movements from below that center community agency and social justice.