State's persecution of Gachagua adds muscle to his political stature

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has endured the brunt of the police service. [File, Standard]

Across the spectrum of coloUrful individuals, history is replete with leaders who deliberately targeted the church to intimidate Christians. The motivation for such attacks was to either break resistance or impose ideological control. From 14th century Governor of Wallachia (South Eastern Romania) Vlad III, to Chinese Mao Zedong, Russian Joseph Stalin and North Korean Kim Jong Un, there is a central theme of persecution, intimidation, harassment and terror designed to weaken citizen support of opponents. Stalin was obsessed with eliminating alternative sources of loyalty, and so is Jong Un today.

Closer home, we are experiencing a similar phenomenon. Church attendance is being unobtrusively demonised by state operatives. Going to church can result in either of two things: communion with God, or confrontation with armed police officers who throw tear gas and fire live bullets into the packed churches for sport.