Bold clergyman who spoke out when few other clerics dared to

Rev Prof David Kodia, the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) bishop in charge of Bondo diocese, is a humble cleric by appearance.

When not teaching at the university, he spends his time ministering to his flock; telling them to love one another and be responsible citizens but above all, love God.

But last week, the man of the cloth caught national attention when he with other clerics issued a statement asking the electoral commission to suspend voting for the repeat presidential election in the four Western Kenya counties of Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay and Migori.

BOYCOTT

The vote had been at the centre of a controversy with Opposition candidate Raila Odinga’s party calling on his supporters to boycott it.

It was an unusual statement coming from the man of God as he shared a platform with local political leaders among them Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o.

Yet he remains unapologetic about the statement, maintaining that such a vote would have perpetuated police brutality, and possibly, deaths in the four counties. Parts of the region, an Opposition stronghold, had been rocked by violent protests against the electoral commission.

On Sunday, wearing a purple zucchetto, a cream robe and green stole, Rev Kodia read from I Thessalonians 2:1-8. Then he turned and told his congregation: “Politics threatens to tear the country apart; and as men of God, we must come out and speak the truth. “People have deviated from the right path and it is our responsibility to take them back on track.”

But why would the men of the cloth talk about politics and this time on the same platform with politicians?

TENSION

For Rev Kodia, his message, though fiery, was very consistent with his character and not in political.

His fierce opposition to the vote in the region was not influenced by the political situation in the country but rather by the “likelihood of chaos and police brutality against the people”.

“The wishes of the people are more important than any technical process like elections. If such exercises breed tension, it is better to do away with them,” he told Sunday Nation.

Delivering a sermon at St Peters ACK Church in Bondo on thanksgiving last week, Rev Kodia reiterated his position that the electoral commission shelves the exercise in the region as the residents had rejected it.

Bondo was one of the areas hardest hit by police brutality after three demonstrators were shot dead during the protests against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

As he spoke to Sunday Nation, gesturing with his silvery crosier, he maintained that he sought no favour from any political party in order to speak out. “My current stand should not be misconstrued to mean

RADICAL

I am radical. It is true I once criticised Raila Odinga over corruption in the Grand Coalition Government over the maize scandal,” he said.

“At that time, the current Deputy President William Ruto was the Minister for Agriculture,” he added, referring to the controversial purchase of maize when Mr Ruto was censured in Parliament for a plan okayed by Mr Odinga, the then Prime Minister.

Rev Kodia concedes that the church has turned a blind eye on evils in the society.

“It is the responsibility of any government to protect its people. When they are brutalised by their own regime, then they could devise their own means to stop the attacks. We should not allow our country to reach such a level,” he said.

Revisiting his Friday statement both at the St Stephen’s ACK Church in Kisumu and at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Referral Hospital where he visited injured victims, the cleric denied claims he was “temperamental and personal”.

BRUTALISED

“It is true I exhibited anger because I was talking about the people who were brutalised and killed. Do you expect one talking about death to be happy?” he asked.

Addressing the press conference, a visibly angry Rev Kodia had hit out:

“The people of Nyanza just like their counterparts in other perceived opposition zones have chosen their political direction in a clear and open manner that must be respected.”

“Profiling this region has been institutionalised for a very long time and we cannot sit back and watch this act without raising alarm and vehement objection.

He says treating civilians with brute force is a mockery of our own morality and principles of the rule of law.

“Life is already coming back to normal and the people must be listened to before any election is conducted in a peaceful environment,” he said.

It was against this stiff opposition from Rev Kodia and other leaders that the electoral body called off the exercise in the four counties and announced the final results.