From a humble background to top leadership of Presbyterian church

Julius Guantai Mwamba is the unlikeliest man to have assumed the office of Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa.

Nothing may draw that contrast like the village in Meru County where he was born and brought up.

The Rev Mwamba grew up in a rural but agriculturally-rich area surrounded by maize and beans farms. The soils are rich and fertile and rains almost always predictable.

Yururu is off the Nairobi-Meru Road, near Igoji. From Igoji the road meanders for about five kilometres till a sharp hill comes into view and then the majestic Iraru River that always fills to gigantic volumes during the rainy season. Once you have crossed Iraru River, you arrive at Yururu where the main cash crop is coffee. Tea is grown in the neighbouring Igandene area.

But the area is also known for bananas, arrow roots, cassava and sugarcane which are sold at the thriving Ntharene roadside market near Nkubu town.

This is where The Rt Rev Mwamba grew up. He attended Kithatu Secondary School, a district secondary school, mixed then, but which is currently a girls’ only school.

From such background rose the man who has now taken the mantle to head PCEA for the next three years with eligibility of re-election for another three years.

He was also an unlikely candidate because he becomes the first moderator to head the church who hadn’t worked for long in an urban parish, even though he is notably involved in development projects.

“For me, I take note that by God’s grace I assume this office today,” he said in his acceptance speech at the inauguration held at PCEA St Andrew’s Church in Nairobi where the church was holding its General Assembly. The assembly ended yesterday.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

In interviews with those who have worked with him over the years, he is known to consult widely before arriving at a decision on a matter.

“He is not known to play any messy politics. He is not a political manipulator. He will only play persuasive politics. He is on the right side and he is firm on that,” said Pastor Buri E. who has worked closely with him for the last two years and four months. “He is very faithful, very consultative and takes counsel.”

The pastor said that he has come to know a man who does not mind joining ground staff or kitchen staff at his parish for a cup of tea or lunch, a signature of his pastoral heart.

The man educated at St Paul’s University and at the Columbia Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, now has the arduous task of heading a church in the turbulence of modernity and in need of steady hands.

He sees himself as a man whose mission is to “rebuild the walls” taking his mission from the writings of Prophet Nehemiah, commissioned by God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in yore days.

In his acceptance speech, he does not belittle the task ahead for a church whose institutions are facing financially turbulent times nor shy away from the contemporary issues facing society.

“The church is facing many challenges in the same way Jerusalem was and therefore I’m convinced that there are areas in our church which require care, healing, reconciliation and reconstruction,” he told the delgates gathered for the 21st General Assembly.

“My appeal to this assembly is to rise to the occasion ... rebuild the walls ... And strengthen them that are weak and falling,” he said.

In an interview with the Sunday Nation subsequent to his consecration, he said that he would prioritise prayer, financial discipline and the turnaround of church institutions such as the Presbyterian University and the church’s hospitals, colleges and schools.

“I want to fight individualism and selfishness and set performance targets. We have to equip the church with capacity through professional consulting on management,” he says of his mission. “We will be seeking professional advice from our members on all aspects of the church’s mission. We want, for instance, to turn around our three hospitals and turn them into referral facilities.”

He is stark in his admission of the state of affairs: “The university started well but, along the way, we lost focus of our mission and vision, causing loss of business. As a result, the institution’s performance has been below average.”

He then shared his resolve for a turnaround: “We must embrace each other and work together as a team to recover our university and make it a university of choice for the whole world. There is nothing that will stop the traditional resilient spirit of the Presbyterians to achieve their intended goals.”

He is also determined to place the church in tune with the contemporary issues facing the country. At his inauguration, The Rt Rev Mwamba said: “Mr President, terror can never be defeated through cowardice but by boldly facing and extinguishing the enemy.”

RESILIENT SPIRIT

President Kenyatta, in turn, said he would work with the church and all Kenyans in rooting out corruption and terrorism. “If we overcome, the future of this nation is not only guaranteed but secured,” he said.

The President congratulated the Rt Rev Mwamba, the new Secretary General, Reverend Peter Kania Kariuki, and the new Honorary Treasurer Amon Nderi Ng’ang’a for being entrusted with the leadership of the church.

He pledged his support for the new officials, saying the PCEA church has been at the forefront of religious nourishment, education and health provision.

The President congratulated the PCEA church for holding peaceful elections for its leadership, adding that this was a good lesson for other churches to emulate.

The PCEA General Assembly is normally held every three years where new leaders are elected.

There was a personal sentimental moment for the President. His Father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, was educated by the Presbyterian Church, then known as the Church Mission of Scotland, in Thogoto in his formative years.

Citing the personal influence of the church on him and his family, the President said: “This church educated my father and opened new horizons through which he was able to achieve a lot.”

NEW HORIZONS

Rt Rev Mwamba takes over the church from the Most Rev David Gathanju, who has run a six-year course. He was preceded by the controversial moderator David Githii.

Dr Githii had said in a media interview last year that he was denouncing the church, accusing it of condoning devil worship and homosexuality. His tenure at the helm had been marked by controversies over what he saw, in many institutions, as representation of devil worship.

Dr Githii had in his tenure questioned the artefacts that decorated the former parliamentary chambers, and other institutions like State House. To him, they were peppered with items commensurate with devil worship.

In response to his accusations, the Most Rev Gathanju said at the time on behalf of the church: “We believe in a sovereign God who is true, that is, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. We denounce all forms of sin which include, but not limited, to homosexuality and lesbianism and devil worship.” Dr Githii has since left the church.

Rt Rev Mwamba will have to grapple with controversial issues. One of these is how to relate with churches in Western nations that have associated with PCEA but which are increasingly embracing liberal theology on gayism.

For instance, the last General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (2014), made this resolution: “The discernment of those discussions resulted in the approval of an authoritative interpretation and a Book of Order amendment permitting ministers and sessions to use their own discernment to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies where allowed by law.” 

In other words, the Presbyterian Church in the US has opened the door for parishes and parish ministers to officiate such weddings.

When the Sunday Nation asked him his position on this controversial subject, the Rev Mwamba said that Presbyterian Church of East Africa would be clinical in its dealings with churches outside of the country who are grappling with this question – and would choose who to relate with.