Polls needn't be Armageddon, love and care for thy neighbor

In his seminal 1969 work on African religions – African Religions and Philosophy – Prof John Mbiti famously wrote that "Africans are notoriously religious." Prof Mbiti is the universally acknowledged authority on African religions. Academics and serious thinkers sit up and listen when he speaks – or writes.

That's why his pithy statement about the piety of his African kinsmen must be taken seriously – and intelligently interrogated. I raise, and revisit, this pivotal question because on August 8 we are headed for a titanic decision as a nation. Either the son of Jomo Kenyatta – the Burning Spear – or the scion of Jaramogi – the doyen of the Kenyan Opposition – will claim the country's most famous political real estate. Question – do we love our neighbours?