Agnes Chepkwony Abuom: Goodbye village girl who rubbed shoulders with religious superstars

Dr Agnes Abuom greets Pope Francis at the WCC Ecumenical Centre, Geneva. [Albin Hillert, WCC] Agnes Chepkwony Abuom was buried on June 15, 2023. She reported for earthly duties in October 1949 and after 73 years of playing her part, she exited the world before Madaraka Day 2023. In between, she remained what she once described as a 'village girl' who ended up rubbing shoulders with religious superstars. They included Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Pope Francis of the Catholic Church, and the leadership of the World Council of Churches in Geneva. A fraction of them were at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi for the funeral service and in Kapsabet for the actual internment. The village girl was skinny but ecumenically bountiful with an engaging personality that was deceptively simple. One had to look deep to see the steel in her, focused on particular challenges whether political, socio-economic, or religious in nature. That inner steel took her places to encounter religious royalties without losing her 'village girl' simplicity that would occasionally include chewing gum. She was in many groups, making her contribution in thoughts and deeds where other people of good brains and deeds engaged each other. One of those groups was the Samuel Kobia-inspired HakiAmani team of thinkers and doers that included UN rapporteur Alice Wairimu Nderitu, theologian Jesse Mugabi, Horn of Africa Institute founder/chairman Mustafa Ali, businessman Titus Imbui, and educator Kabiru Kinyanjui. Agnes Chepkwony Abuom. [Courtesy, World Council of Churches] She was available for Mustafa Genz and his Harmony Institute whose chairman is Frederick Iraki who helps to identify activities and people to interact with. Top on the activities is inter-religious interactions which stress inter-faith dialogue, providing development assistance, and helping to run top schools. In those dialogues, ACK Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit participated and so did different diplomats and leaders of other denominations. With Sapit presiding over the funeral service, Kobia and Genz were at the Cathedral to escort their friend, Abuom. As a global ecumenical celebrity, other celebrities ensured their voices were heard, saying positive things about Abuom. Welby, observed that Abuom liked settling conflicts by encouraging rivals to meet. Angelic Walker-Smith of the National Baptist Convention USA would like Abuom turned into a 'saint'. For the World Council of Churches General Secretary Jerry Pillay and Central Committee Moderator Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Abuom was "a true African but also a citizen of the world." Sapit noted that "she never shied away from expressing what she believed was the right approach to building strong national, regional and global institution." Lutheran preacher Fidon Mwombeki, general secretary of the All Africa Council of Churches, praised Abuom's long-lasting ecumenical ministry. Behind all those compliments, however, was the hidden reality that Abuom was a rebel whose activities inspired others to take stands. She was the daughter of a colonial chief in Eldoret, attending school when girls her age had other concerns. She had problems being silent when something was patently wrong even as a student at the University of Nairobi. Dr Agnes Abuom's memorial service at the Anglican All Saints' Cathedral, Nairobi, on 13 June, 2023. [Courtesy, Anglican Church of Kenya] It happened in 1975 when Carl McIntire, a promoter of religious racism, came to Nairobi to preach that anti-colonialists were terrorists and that apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia were the only 'civilised' places in Africa. The protests that she and Kobia organised led to McIntire's expulsion from Kenya. And in the build-up to multipartyism, her activism in the 1980s earned her some state accommodation at a national learning and re-education centre in the basement of a tall building in the middle of Nairobi. Looking at her, it is difficult to imagine the village girl receiving re-education on Nyayo patriotism at Nyayo House but she unwillingly attended the 'lessons'. That way, she contributed to Kenya's second liberation. Abuom had a clear commitment to do good, to mentor the youth into being good, and to set a good example for aspiring young women.

Agnes Chepkwony Abuom: Goodbye village girl who rubbed shoulders with religious superstars

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