Let’s nurture a sense of moral duty to all

Religious leaders are failing the Jamhuri. To understand the enormity of this reality, one needs to look at online commentary on the National Prayer Breakfast held on Thursday. Kenyans mocked the religious leaders and politicians gathered to pray for the country, noting the unholy alliance between thieveing politicians and religious leaders that accept cash donations from the same. The alliance of venality and hypocrisy was exposed for all to see. The chasm between religiosity and status quo bias of our leaders and the lived reality of majority of Kenyans could no longer be ignored.

Throughout history, religion has played an important role in the development of states. Indeed, some scholars have argued that the close relationship between religiosity and statehood was the foundation of the Rule of Law. The king was bound by the same moral and religious code that guided behaviour of his subjects. In addition, religious leaders provided a powerful alternative centre of power. By claiming to speak for God, they had the authority to grant or withdraw legitimacy from secular leaders. Europe, a region with several states that are technically theocracies with state churches, is a great illustration of this fact. Modern European statehood co-evolved with Christianity.

The point of these examples is to show it is not enough to write laws that curb venality among our leaders. We also must create a moral community with shared values among the masses and leaders alike. At the moment it appears that our leaders live by a different set of values from the public. How else would you explain the phenomenon of politicians smuggling maize from Uganda and denying their core voters a means of livelihood? How else do you explain billionaires colluding to steal even more billions from dying patients in our hospitals? These outcomes are only possible in societies where leaders have no moral obligation to those they purport to lead. Without nurturing a sense of moral duty to one another – across religion, class, ethnicity, and political affiliation – we will continue to sing about Chapter Six of the Constitution without any results.

This is where our religious leaders ought to come in. Kenya being a deeply religious country (at least on paper), they have the power to nurture a shared sense of moral obligation to one another. More than any other institution, they can provide the software that gives life to laws and regulations. However, over the last three decades they have done very little in this regard. Instead, at every turn they have chosen to remain cozy with politicians that, through commission and omission, kill thousands of Kenyans every year and deny millions more a shot at a decent life. In short, the church in Kenya is implicated in the erosion of propriety in public life.

It is no wonder the youth are increasingly skeptical of religion and religious leaders. To know what is yet to come, one needs to look at Spain and Italy. The coziness of the church with murderous dictators in the two countries served to alienate the youth, who in turn abandoned the church and now only view religion as a cultural phenomenon.

- The writer is assistant professor Georgetown University