As long as atheists don’t harm anyone, let them be

There is probably no God. Look, hear me out before you order me burned at the stake. Most people, including myself, still live as if there were a God anyway, in the hope of finding a version of paradise in the afterlife. I was raised Catholic, flirted with agnosticism in my late teens before settling for a new-fangled brand of Christianity that my father’s mother still considers a passing cloud. It has been a decade. I identify as a born-again Christian and often draw curious stares whenever I say that, but that’s a tale for another day.

With that background out of the way, it is time to focus attention to the Atheists in Kenya Society, which is struggling to gain legitimacy.  When they applied for registration,  Principal State Counsel Maria Nyariki denied it on January 14, 2016.

“The Registrar has reasonable cause to believe that the interests of peace, welfare or good order in Kenya would be likely to suffer prejudice by reason of your registration as a society,” she informed them.

They appealed and got their way a month later. Christians were outraged. So were Muslims. Other religions, too, but these two were very vocal about their opposition to the very existence of this group of people who profess no faith.

“Purporting to register it was offensive to the Constitution,” former Kiambu MP Stephen Ndicho told me on Sunday. He is now the vocal Vice-Chairman of the Kenya National Congress of Pentecostal Churches. He’s referring to the preamble of the constitution: “We, the people of Kenya ... acknowledging  the supremacy of the Almighty God of all creation…”

PARTY OF SEVEN

The founder and president of Atheists in Kenya, Harrison Mumia, demurs, pointing to Section 8 of the same Constitution: “There shall be no State religion.” He’s not only atheist but an anti-theist who seems to particularly enjoy antagonising the mainstream religions and knocking down their beliefs. He and his 100 or so members set up a party, “Without God”, to celebrate their registration but word of their suspension came before the celebration.

“Following receipt of representations made to the State Law Office by various religious and other organisations regarding the registration of the Atheist Society of Kenya, the Attorney-General has directed the Registrar of Societies to suspend, with immediate effect, the said registration under Section 12(1)(b) of the Societies Act until the propriety, legality and constitutionality of the registration is determined by the Supreme Court,” a statement said.

The atheists still went ahead and partied anyway, according to Mumia. A grand total of seven people showed up, if you go by the single picture posted on the society’s social media pages.

“Our people have no concept of there being no God, maybe they believe in idolatry,” said Abdulrahman Wandati of the Muslim Consultative Council. He and Mumia are both from the Luhya community and he jokingly pointed out that they could even be related. One is a prominent Muslim scholar, the other a religion-baiting unbeliever.

Legal experts say the Attorney-General suspended the freethinkers society without following due procedure. “I agree with Harrison Mumia to the extent that the Societies Act requires a reason to be given before suspending,” advocate Charles Kanjama opined. The Christian representative on the panel didn’t see anything amiss and wholeheartedly supported the A-G’s decision. Just days earlier, Ndicho had  demanded that Mr Githu Muigai resign for allowing the society to be registered.

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

Online, the atheists were dragged and eviscerated. Psalm 14:1 was frequently quoted: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” Few of the dissenters thought that maybe their argument was moot because the apostates don’t believe in the Bible, to begin with. The intolerance was spectacular, coming from religions that preach love and mindfulness.

“We must avoid intolerance,” implored Kanjama, also Vice-Chair of the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum. “We must also avoid the intolerance of tolerance.”

Christians and Muslims both exhibit an increasingly common Kenyan affliction: the inability to accept divergent views. Even supposedly educated people suddenly clam up and refuse to engage when it comes to politics or religion, or resort to insults. Arguments quickly become dogmatic and usually open-minded individuals become your run-of-the-mill fundamentalists.

Atheists should be free to form whatever association(s) they please, organise parties and meet openly. It is their constitutional right and doctrinaires shouldn’t get in the way. As long as their activities do not harm anybody else, beyond challenging delicate beliefs, they should be left alone. After all, religious education has been a part of the Kenyan education system without allowing room for independent thought on the subject.

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BIG STORY 

Huruma tragedy eclipsed ivory burn story 

A FRIEND WAS a little miffed that we spent most of Saturday’s NTV Weekend Edition covering the aftermath of the building that collapsed in  Huruma.

We still sneaked in live coverage of the historic ivory burning, where a record 105 tonnes went up in flames at the Nairobi National Park. 

I pointed out that we had covered both the actual burning as well as the Giants Club Summit from Nanyuki live in the preceding three days.

It wasn’t enough, he insisted, because lots of international agencies were covering the story while we appeared to have ignored it.

“Dead poor people are just as important as dead rich people,” I snapped at him.

Offended, he demanded that I take it back as his sentiments would stand if the dead were rich.

Both of us probably had valid points but it ignored the fact that conservation in Kenya is still an elite, mostly White activity. Even on the best of days, it is still hard for the average Kenyan to understand when they’re just struggling to make ends meet.

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FUNNY PRESIDENT 

Could Uhuru drop mic, Obama style? 

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA took the White House Correspondents’ Dinner stage to tell jokes for the eighth and last time on Saturday night. It wasn’t his funniest, but it might be his most memorable, considering his last action: dropping his microphone and declaring: “Obama out!” He skewered everyone from his own wife, Michelle, to Donald Trump and even the journalists in the audience. “Even journalists are leaving me,“ he said of the last days of his presidency. Jake Tapper left journalism to join CNN.” Everyone agrees he has been the funniest president and he has really shone at the event known as #nerdprom among insiders.

 When President Uhuru Kenyatta hosted Kenyan editors to a breakfast meeting early in his presidency, the fourth estate was roundly criticised for selling out. Another meeting has not happened despite promises from State House and the two parties maintain a healthy hostility towards each other. Could President Kenyatta someday drop the mic too?

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FEEDBACK: on our selective shows of patriotism

It is true that on rare occasions Kenyans come together for a moment. The problem Kenya faces has little to do with hatred for tribal customs or beliefs but mostly power, authority and financial strength. There is only one way to solve this type of tribalism, and it involves solving these three things.

Kenya has yet to have a leader who is willing to tackle these issues. It is always an issue of “Your tribe has such and such, while my tribe got the best of this and that”. It is a problem that no leader will ever want to handle because he/she will lose the backing of  “his/her people”.

It is a worldwide phenomenon that is visible in most countries. The killing of young blacks in the US is one of the best examples. The wealthy and whose in power are predominately White, so when a Black man is killed, nobody cares. Kenyan leaders need to solve this. The only problem is, we have none. 

Gatonye Ng’ang’a

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Despite our shortcomings in tribe-related matters, I feel there is hope. Have you noticed the increasing number of inter-tribal marriages in the country? I reckon that in years to come, we will no longer have a particular tribe stereotyped as smarter or faster or street-wise. When Kenya wins marathons or rugby trophies or any notable global recognition, we will celebrate as Kenyans, and not people of a tribe. The days of I-belong-to-a-certain-tribe will slowly  come to an end with the generation that is coming up. And then Ramah Nyang’s tweet will hold profound meaning because the tribe will have died and the nation will be alive.

Wendi  Kibaara

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My take is that Kenya is in the process of a  complex reorganisation and a painful refabrication before it can fuse into a great nation. That is why I am not worried about  the nonsensical tribal  games as long as people agree to outgrow them at some age, and they don’t degenerate. 

You write about it like an outsider,  as if you are removed and redeemed from that mess in which we all are, but you are just being hypocritical. 

Our problem is the political leaders who re-engineer and exploit the same. If emotions can be whipped up in a game of soccer, it’s much easier where people are cheated into thinking their lives are at risk. A day is coming when we shall overcome; tribes don’t have to disappear.

Charles