Church should be on the side of truth and justice, not politicians

Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi, President William Ruto, Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika and Speaker Moses Wetangula in prayer during a past rally. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

From the days of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Church has been a permanent figure in the affairs of the state globally. Back then, society was divided into distinct classes called estates.

The Church was the First Estate, and besides running the affairs of the Catholic Church, it had power to levy a 10 per cent tax (tithe).

The Second Estate consisted of the novelty of France. The rich, high, and mighty. This class did not pay any taxes. The royal family was part of this class, save for the King. They were awarded special privileges, such as wearing a sword and hunting, and like the clergy, they also collected taxes from the Third Estate.

The Third Estate was made up of everyone else, from peasant farmers to bourgeoisie - the wealthy business class. While the Second Estate was only one per cent of the total population of France then, the Third Estate was 96 per cent, and had none of the rights and privileges enjoyed by the First and Second Estate.

The Fourth Estate was the Media, which has retained its title to date. While in the 18th century the Church and state were in some kind of marriage in France, this relationship has taken different shapes and forms in many countries in the years and decades that have followed.

In England, King Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church in 1509 after disagreeing on principle. Pope Clement VII refused to dissolve the King’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon to allow him to marry one of Catherine’s lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn.

In Kenya, this relationship has for the longest time been tumultuous, with men (mostly) of the cloth being at loggerheads with nearly all administrations. The Church was until three years ago known to be the conscience of society. The Third Estate as it were, relied on the First Estate to shepherd the State and duty bearers back to line every time they erred. And many of them played this role dutifully.

In 1974 Bishop Henry Okullu wrote a book; Church and State in East Africa, in which he called for a pluralistic democracy in Kenya and East Africa. The last general election seems to have pulled back what the good bishop championed for.

Campaigns leading to the August 9, 2022 General Election once again put the Church in a pole position in matters national governance. It began with the William Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza wing that frequented churches of all denominations weekend after weekend. Some weekends, they even attended up to three church services, while on very good Sabbath days, they divided themselves into several teams and visited churches in multiple counties at once. Kenya Kwanza became a permanent fixture on many a pulpit.

Their competitors called them names and chastised them for politicising the Church and turning the pulpit into a campaign stage. They called out the Church for siding with Dr Ruto’s wing. But it was short-lived, thanks to Kenya Kwanza’s unrelenting demonisation of Raila Odinga as anti-church. It was not long before the Raila–Martha Karua side of things joined the fray. They too picked their best churches and thronged them.

It was funny seeing Eugene Wamalwa and Kalonzo Musyoka, for instance, tucked in some mabati synagogues in one slum area or another. Karua and Charity Ngilu on many occasions came out in church head gears; Ngilu even once in a full Mothers Union regalia (she is a full member of the Mothers Union). It was still a surprise though.

The political stage had shifted, the Church was the new ground to conquer, and traverse it they did. Not even a decree by the head of the Anglican Church in Kenya, Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit, helped. Ole Sapit had issued a statement saying Anglican church pulpits would no longer be used for political mileage. But was he heard? 

The die had been cast, everyone had picked their ‘god’, and virtually each church had their presidential candidate. The congregation was left hanging. Should they follow their leaders to either side or go with their political conscience, or tribes as we tend to? Someone needs to run a poll among Christians to find out to what extent these visits influenced their choices at the ballot. 

Prophecies and counter-prophecies flew around. With each side as the Swahili say, pulling in their favour. One preacher is on record saying Raila would lead in the polls by a whopping 3.6 million votes. Many others spared no chance to say Ruto was the chosen one and charged their followers not to argue with the voice of God.

The Church, like the rest of the country, had picked sides and divided the faithful down the middle, all the way to the ballot. And when the new administration settled in, it all became clear that the church was going to be a darling of the State, except for one problem.

The mainstream side of things seems to have been sidelined by State House as they are seldom involved in as many things as we are used to. Appointments to key teams and task forces have seen the mainstream church left out as their pentecostal counterparts shine away in the ‘glory of their king.’

It is therefore not surprising that recent calls by the Church for ceasefire and dialogue seem to be falling on deaf ears for two reasons. The calls are largely coming from the same mainstream churches that have been sidelined, hence have little to no effect on the Kenya Kwanza side; and two, the other side still views the Church as a serious enabler that played a key role in catapulting this administration to power. The church is as such viewed in some way by the Opposition as part of the State or of the problem, if you wish.

With this history therefore, can the Church be a neutral arbiter in this stalemate? I hope so. But whatever the case, I hold that the Church needs to pick a side. The side of truth and justice.