Are we one great nation or ethnic enclaves?

Nasa supporters hold demonstrations against the electoral agency, at Kondele roundabout in Kisumu County on October 9, 2017. Election cycles have become one orgy of violence —literally! PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • It’s time Kenyans retraced the principles that heralded the birthing of this nation.
  • President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga seem determined not to talk to each other.

Amid the cacophony of one of the most ill-tempered and divisive electioneering seasons in living memory, a rare debate on church unity slated for this week could pass unnoticed.

Titled, ‘Luther, Reformer of the Catholic Church?’ the debate will be on the eve of a major Sunday service at the Lutheran Cathedral on Uhuru Highway, Nairobi, culminating a year’s celebrations to mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Both the debate and the service are unusual in that they do not easily resonate with the public, never mind that 85 per cent of Kenyans profess Christianity.

INDEPENDENCE

The questions is: Does this Christian majority understand its history?

Lutheran Church cleric Isaiah Obare feels the church has not played its role of teaching youth the foundation of their faith, which should worry the clergy.

His sentiments on Kenyan Christians’ ignorance of their faith can be extrapolated to their ignorance of their history.

Kenya’s freedom was achieved through championing of lofty ideals, which 54 years later seem to be all but forgotten.

How else does one explain the current political tussle centered on two personalities, and which appears to be morally bankrupt with the key players driven more by ethnicity and cronyism than Kenyans’ good?

PRINCIPLES

The more I chatted with Rev Obare on the Reformation, which, to him, was all about taking the church back to its roots, the more I drew parallels with present-day Kenya.

It’s time Kenyans retraced the principles that heralded the birthing of this nation.

The church in Luther’s time had deviated from its biblical principles.

Today, lust for raw power has replaced the selflessness that saw Jaramogi Oginga Odinga put aside his political ambitions and champion the release of Jomo Kenyatta to be Kenya’s first Head of State.

POLITICIANS
When you hear chants, “No Reforms, No Elections”, aren’t you reminded of Martin Luther’s 95 theses, which he posted on the door the Wittenberg Castle Church on October 31, 1517?

The most significant was his opposition to the sale of indulgences to buy time off purgatory — a place Catholics believe souls must pass through to be purified before entering heaven.

Luther’s message was simple: Sinners are forgiven because Jesus paid for all their sins.

Today, Kenya’s political leaders are jostling for power, perpetrating the lie that by being in office, their supporters will get good roads, and plum jobs, you name it.

POWER

Because of the “our-turn-to-eat” illusion that goes with the high-stakes game that’s politics, election cycles have become one orgy of violence —literally!

In both the Protestant Reformation and the current Jubilee-Nasa debacle, the driving force is lust for power and resources that go with the winner-take-all system of government the 2010 Constitution sought to fix, but seems to have woefully failed to.

Saturday’s roundtable discussion on whether Luther was a reformer of the Catholic Church is straightforward enough, and was probably answered by the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council that saw Pope John XXIII invite Protestants as observers.

Since then, there has been dialogue between Catholics and Protestants aimed at reuniting the Church in accordance with Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John, where Jesus expressed his yearning for one church.

DIALOGUE
Canadian Assumptionist priest Gilles Blooin will lead the open discussions.

He is concerned that various Christian denominations seem contented with being good neighbours rather than brothers and sisters.

Kenya’s current situation is worse, as President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga seem determined not to talk to each other.

The big question is: Shall we go the Rwanda way before we see the sense that we are one great nation and not an ethnic collective?

Ms Kweyu is a freelance journalist and consulting editor. [email protected]