Serunkuma’s new book exposes the West’s continued exploitation of Africa

Yusuf Serunkuma Kajura, a columnist for The Observer newspaper, has once again tackled the issue of Western exploitation in Africa in his latest book, Surrounded: Democracy, Free Markets and Other Entrapments of New Colonialism.

In this work, Serunkuma argues that despite achieving formal independence, African countries continue to be exploited in much the same way as during colonial rule—only now through more insidious and less visible mechanisms.

The book explores how the economic foundation of colonialism never truly ended but, rather, mutated into new forms, disguised under seemingly benevolent concepts such as democracy, human rights, elections, foreign aid, non-governmental organizations, scholarships and free- market economics.

According to Serunkuma, these frameworks have been systematically weaponized by the West—primarily North America and Europe—to maintain dominance over African economies, ensuring continued dependency and underdevelopment.

“The seemingly well-meaning and benevolent discourses and campaigns from the Western world are the absolute embodiment of, and technologies of, new colonialism. The genius of new colonialism lies in its ability to seamlessly fetishize itself and endlessly mutate like an amoeba, appearing to align itself with the interests of the colonized,” Serunkuma writes.

He contends that for every dollar the so-called developed world spends in Africa in the form of aid, $24 is taken back in return. As a result, Africa has lost trillions of dollars, far exceeding the amount the West claims to have contributed.

The book also examines the role of African leaders in this continued exploitation. Serunkuma argues that many African leaders, driven by a greed for power, have become mercenaries of the West, enacting policies that serve foreign interests rather than their own citizens. He asserts that these leaders have mortgaged national resources to former and new colonizers while embracing economic policies designed to keep their countries perpetually underdeveloped.

A major focus of the book is the devastating impact of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Serunkuma criticizes these policies for forcing African governments to sell state-owned enterprises, leading to mass unemployment and widespread poverty.

Worse still, he argues, the same multinational corporations and financial entities that control the IMF and World Bank ended up acquiring these privatized enterprises—banks, mining companies and telecommunications firms—using them to extract wealth from Africa through capital flight and unfair trade practices.

Serunkuma warns that true independence will remain elusive until Africans and other formerly colonized peoples take full control of their economic and political decision-making. He calls for an urgent and fearless confrontation with new colonialism, much like the anti- colonial struggles of the past.

In a rallying cry to African intellectuals, he urges scholars engaged in critical colonial studies to step beyond the walls of their air-conditioned offices and elite academic circles and instead take to the streets—leading their people in a renewed struggle for liberation from modern-day colonial bondage.

Serunkuma’s latest book adds to his growing list of publications, which includes The Snake Farmers, Non-Essential Humans, Before the First Drop, and The Meat Eaters, among others. He has also authored numerous academic papers and newspaper articles in Uganda and across the region.

Surrounded: Democracy, Free Markets and Other Entrapments of New Colonialism is available for Shs 50,000 at the Makerere Institute of Social Research and select bookstores in Kampala. The book can also be purchased online at mahiribooks.com.

Serunkuma holds a PhD in Social-Cultural Anthropology from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.

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