THE ROLE OF CHURCH IN STATE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DURING THE KIBAKI ERA, 2002-2013

Makokha Vincent Kinas

doi:10.47672/ejpcr.359

Abstract

Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to determine the role of church in state and public affairs during the Kibaki Era, 2002-2013Methodology: The methodology employed in this study was qualitative in nature. The study relied mainly on the analysis of an existing dataset from secondary sources. The data was gathered from technical reports, scholarly journals, reference books, past sermons, church publications, official and unofficial doctrine, theologies and from the Kenya National Archives in Nairobi. Other sources of data collection for the study included official statistics collected by government and the various agencies, bureaus and departments. The target population for this study was the mainland churches in Kenya and the role these churches played in state and public affairs in Kenya between 2002 and 2007.Results: The Kibaki era has been characterized by many an events that have attracted by far and wide the attention of the clergy. In 2005, the most significant development of the 2005 constitutional referendum is not the defeat of the draft, but the emergence of strains and tensions not just between Christians and Muslims, but also between church and state. Another significant development was the fact that the mainline clergy were increasingly viewed as partisan and divided along ethnic lines and serving narrow political interest depending on the ethnic group to which its leaders belonged. The prophetic role and voice of the church to act as the conscience of society was lost, and the church did nothing to evaluate its own role even after the people voted to soundly reject the draft constitution.Unique contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study recommended that the government should put in place laws that would involve the church in government matters. This can be done by introducing motions into parliament that advocate for the direct involvement of the church. This would involve laws which ensure that a portion of all members sitting in any committee represents the church. This can also be done by the introduction of electoral posts for church representatives just as there are positions for women representatives. The study also recommends that amendments be made to the constitution to make a legal requirement that one of the nominated MPs must be from the church.

Highlights

In the 2002 general elections, Moi considered but eventually decided not to challenge the constitutional ban on a presidential third term
Since the unprecedented growth and explosion of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements in the public sphere, the mainline churches that were for many decades regarded as the voices of the voiceless and the conscience of society were increasingly faced with the difficult and complex challenge of maintaining not just their own influence and significance, and their socio-political voice and activism in an increasingly multi-religious, multi-denominational, and multi-ethnic society
This generally shows that the church had regained its power in addressing the evils in political administration during Kibaki era in Kenya due to the freedom created for expression by the government

Summary

Introduction

In the 2002 general elections, Moi considered but eventually decided not to challenge the constitutional ban on a presidential third term. Kibaki's Democratic Party affiliated with several other opposition parties to form National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK). A group of disappointed KANU presidential aspirants quit KANU in protest after being overlooked by outgoing President Moi when he nominated founding Father Jomo Kenyatta's son, Uhuru Kenyatta to be the KANU presidential candidate, and hurriedly formed the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). NAK later combined with the LDP to form the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC). On 14 October 2002, at a large opposition rally in Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Kibaki was nominated the NARC opposition alliance presidential candidate after Raila Odinga made the famous declaration, Kibaki Tosha! On 27 December 2002, Kibaki and NARC won a landslide victory over KANU, with Kibaki getting 62% of the votes in the presidential elections, against only 31% for the KANU candidate Uhuru Kenyatta

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