THE COSTLY FAILURE OF DIALOGUE.

Sammy Frank.

The 2007/2008 Kenyan Post election Violence is a clear indication of a nation whose mechanisms of effecting dialogue amongst its people have failed. For that failure, more than 1500 lives were lost and close to a million people displaced in a short three weeks of intense madness.

Four years later, I am sad to report that we have learnt very little from the episode of our collective insanity. If the recommendations of the electoral and boundaries commission are going to be followed, this great nation will go for general elections in December 2012. My concern is the presidential ballot paper. There is nothing that will be indicative of national failure of dialogue like when that ballot paper is printed and contains anything more than four names. Of course more than 10 candidates have declared their intention to run. The phrase ‘my name must be in that ballot paper’ is being dished around cheaply. Makes our presidency look like common-place maandazi…

Let’s tell the bitter truth: tribe is still going to be the determining factor in the outcome of the presidential vote. I wish this was not the case. But I don’t want to face the things as I wish they were….I will face them as they are. If you are not comfortable with that fact, better learn to live with it.

We saw how much tribe is dictating how different people interpret national affairs recently. On the indictment of four Kenyans at the ICC, a group calling itself  the Gikuyu council of elders placed adverts in local dailies with insinuations that their tribes men were being persecuted and challenging the wisdom of the Hague-based court.

Some people argue that it is the democratic right of the aspirants to run for whatever position they wish to run for in this country. If that be so, then lets allow the more than 50 aspirants go for their rights if they so wish. My point is that for a stable Kenya, political brinkmanship is a thing of the past. Shall we just allow competition for its own sake? I don’t mind competition but I really mind the poisonous nature of politics that descends on the country in every electioneering season since 1992. Name-calling, killings and racial profiling. How long must we put up with this?

It is in the interests of this nation that we reduce the number of competitors for the top seat. Let it be left only for those whose credibility we can vouch for. I know I will be told that the current president of the United States Barrack Obama was a non entity at the beginning of the race and he ended at the hose on the hill by the end of it. That may be it but closer scrutiny reveals that Obama underwent a period of thorough grooming by the Democratic Party lasting more than 4 years! Some of the people who are scouting for the presidency of this country have never held a political office at all. Is our presidency this cheap that we shall dish it around to smother the bloated egos of attention seeking political neophytes? We must preserve the dignity of the jewel of the house. Our politicians must learn to speak to each other.

I am aware that the pre-election pact of 2002 evokes bitter memories to some politicians in Kenya. However, that not with-standing, politicians must be made to learn to reach out to their opponents for the greater good of Kenya. I repeat, to me, should we have more than 4 candidates for presidency that will be a shameful verdict of our political process.

I don’t consider it my duty to try to dictate who should settle for what role in the next government. All what I know is that Kenya cannot afford to have one group of people feeling sidelined by the ruling class. We shall not tolerate the dictatorship of the majority over the minority…neither shall we accommodate the oppression of the majority by the minority.

But our dialogue must go beyond the political arena. We need to have a functional economic set-up that encourages fair play. We cannot afford a nation where the greed of an elite clique threatens the very existence of the masses. Run-away poverty and inequalities is the surest indication of failed dialogue between social classes. I am fully pro-markets, I must declare here. I however know that under the guise of ‘markets’, some people have plundered Kenya shamelessly in the past.

We badly need tactical leadership in the management of the economy in the coming years. We have already drowned the cotton industry by allowing cheap imports in the country. In the near future, Kenya’s sugar and wheat sectors will be on the scales facing unprecedented competition from COMESA and EAC markets. We will have to shape-up or ship-out! Either we get cheaper methods of production or we seek for new area where Kenya shall develop comparative advantage in.

One of the most distressing events of the recent past has been the ‘death’ of the Kenya Anti-corruption Commission. In this case, I will not talk of failure of dialogue since no attempt was ever placed to institute dialogue in the first place. By the decision of a small group of people, albeit the representatives of the people, the institution that is supposed to be the soul of the nation was rendered a devastating beating leaving the welfare of the nation at the mercy of the gluttonous. We must fight for truth and justice in the governance of this country. The alternative will certainly bleed us to death.

Education is one of the surest tools for spreading equality in a country. I’m however worried at the recent trends in the sector. In the form 1 admissions this year, the government preserved 65% of the seats in the national secondary schools to pupils from public schools. This has raised the cry from the various stakeholders from private schools. This is injustice perpetuated to a given section of the population. Professor Ongeri, the current minister of education is determined to institute his own opinion in the ministry regardless of the views of other stake holders. How far can we go when we keep every year leaving behind a portion of the population seething in the pain of injustice perpetuated by the state?

Kenya needs progress. But we need like a crab to carry everyone on-board in our progress. We cannot withstand the wrath of a marginalized group of people. Let those who are still living in the past be informed that Kenya is above that!

Sammy Frank is a student of International Studies at the University of Nairobi.

Operation LindaNchi: How not to start a war.

It is popularly considered ‘unpatriotic’ to criticize an ongoing war. Regrettably, I don’t have very nice words for the way Kenya has found itself fighting a terrorist group in Somalia. Get me right. At the onset, I must clarify that I don’t oppose the war itself. What leaves a lot to be desired is its handling by most of the statecraft. I elaborate.

Start with the commander in chief, the president of the republic of Kenya. President Kibaki did not find it important to address the nation as far as the war is concerned. I tried to rationalize this by arguing that this was strategic….the thinking that a ‘surprise’ invasion would give our troops an upper hand against the enemy. But with four weeks gone in to the incursion and still waiting, obviously it ain’t any strategy here.

President Kibaki has reaped greater political advantage from his ‘aloof’ style of doing business, much to the chagrin of Kenyans who had gotten used to the presidency as a fanciful institution. Think of the former president Daniel Arap Moi. Or even more colourful, the father of the nation, the burning spear, Jomo Kenyatta. For president Kibaki, politics always finds its level. (Physicists will talk of water finding its own level.) Raisezfare is a good modus operadi for the president.

Still, with Kenya going to war for the first time in half a century of our independent history, I find it difficult to accept this lack of bother on the part of the president. In some jurisdictions, this apathetic attitude would have been unforgivable. But I also submit that it would have been in the interest of the government to rally Kenyans around the flag at this moment in Kenya’s history.

It is difficult to point at any one issue that united Kenyans in the last decade as the war against al shabaab has done. Scholars argue that there occurs an increase in support of the government during wartime. This support sometimes is only for a short time. Approval ratings for former US president George Bush soared shortly after 9/11 and just before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. This is called the “rally round the flag syndrome”. A televised presidential address early into ‘operation linda nchi’ would have been good towards stoking the embers of our patriotism.

Patriotism is an asset that the government should seek at all means necessary. It is immaterial that the president may not bother our approval ratings any more considering that he is not going to seek reelection in next year’s polls. This war comes at a time when one of the leaders in this region has, according to the whistle blower website, wikileaks, discredited Kenya’s defense forces as a ‘career army’. It was important for Kenyans to derive the comfort of knowing that the military agencies are competent and rise up to the challenge.

The government should also know that wars that are too long tend to turn public opinion against the government. To refer again to President George Bush’s popularity ratings, we all know how voters threw his party out of congress in the 2006 midterm elections. By 2008, his party had lost control of the senate, House and presidency. In the aftermath of the war, Kenyans have had to cope with certain inconveniences including the regular checks by security agents all over including in the shopping malls. We shouldn’t forget the Kenyans who lost lives in retaliatory attacks like the one at Mwaura’s pub and the one at the busy OTC bus station. No one should take the forbearance of Kenyans for granted.

Without giving details, I must recognize the diplomatic acumen portrayed by the minister for foreign affairs, Moses Wetang’ula in the course of the war. Kenyans may never get to know how many diplomatic conquests the minister has won for Kenya in a space of a few weeks. A story for another day.  

It doesn’t escape a keen observer that the action by the government to rally troops across the boarder comes rather late in the day. Five years ago when Ethiopia attacked the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in Somalia, Kenya increased the surveillance over her vast border with Somalia. This was enforced only for a short time before we relaxed back to business as usual. Of late, that border has been as porous as it can get. Related to this, it is shocking to learn the ease with which Kenya’s identification documents are obtained in the black and sometimes not-so-black markets.

In 2010, one media house conducted a chilling investigative report into the al shabaab recruitment in Kenya. According to the report, al shabaab has even infiltrated our defense forces. For the first time, that report also showed that al shabaab had targeted Kenyan youth not even of Somali ethnicity for recruitment. With this understanding, we must lament the indifference with which security issues are handled with in this country.

But even more important is the development agenda for Northern Kenya. Terrorism will always thrive on the perceived anger of a certain portion of the population over the government’s neglect of the said population. The development potential of the north must be tapped and be used to develop the prospects of the inhabitants. The road network in that part of the world, for instance, must be upgraded as a matter of urgency. Other projects that hold promise include desert tourism, wind and solar energy farms and irrigation schemes. Simply put, the problem of northern Kenya is underdevelopment.

(Sammy Frank is a student of international studies at the University of Nairobi. He blogs at www.sammyfrank.blogspot.com)

Kenya should safeguard the gains of “operation linda nchi’’.

Dr  Nene  opined that  the on-going operation  by the Kenya defense  forces  in Somalia  was  a ‘miscalculation’ (Daily Nation, Wednesday,  26^thOct 2011)  while  appreciating  the significance  of his arguments,  I  beg to  differ.

The   decision by  Kenya  to fight Al-shabaab at their  home  turf  was a last  resort  option  Kenya  could  not take the  slighting  by the  Al-shabaab  militia  any longer.

It must  be  remembered  that  Kenya  has  sacrificed  a lot   inorder   to  accommodate  a lawless  Somalia for the last two  decades . Kenya, Igad  and  the African  union  have  put  up appreciable diplomatic  efforts  to restore  sanity inn the horn  of Africa nation.

Several times, Nairobi went out of her way to create some semblance of order in the war-torn nation, without any thanks from the feuding warlords. In one  particularly embarrassing  meeting  in Nairobi, the Somali  leaders  quarreled  over   payment  of their  allowances  in public view, betraying  their   ineptitude  towards  restoring  law  and order in Somalia.  One gets the feeling that some people are benefiting from the lawlessness   in Somalia and will go to any length to sabotage any engagement aimed at social-economic.

It   should not  escape  the  notice  of  the  international  community that  Kenya is host to thousands of  Somalia   refugees sometimes at the expense of  her  social-economic  stability.

In the ensuing shenanigans among Somalia clan leaders, the country has become a wasteland ,a haven   for terrorist  groups like the Al –shabaab. Kenya has suffered losses following  a number of  attacks by the terrorist  group .the international  community agrees that Kenya was justified in invoking article 51 of the  UN charter to defend the integrity of her territory from the misadventures of Al-shabaab.

Kenya must however think of ways of safeguarding the gains achieved in the military operation. It will be important to deal with militia a deadly blow this time. War against a terrorist group is not conventional at all. We are facing an enemy who may have no respect for international conventions on war. Due to the wooly nature of terrorists, it might be difficult to tell when the objectives of the attack are achieved. Unless such a war is informed by sufficient intelligence resources, it may be hazy and at worst, self defeating. One can only hope that Kenya was careful to incorporate reliable allies in the incursion. The defeat of a terror group is the victory of all peace- loving people.

The second strategic issue that Kenya should consider is how to fill the void left behind once the defense forces exit from Somalia. It is gratifying to learn that the incursion will extend over a considerable amount of time. It is obvious that opportunists are watching from a distance to take advantage of a Somalia without Al shabaab. Kenya should consider the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) as a strategic partner in the Somalia operation. In this regard, the operation received a boost when Uganda and Burundi announced plans to increase their troops under AMISOM.

Kenya and African Union should cultivate goodwill among the Somali public. Probably time has come for the African Union to demand some sense of credibility from the fledgling Transitional Federal Government, TFG. At the end of the day, nobody can guarantee long lasting peace for Somalia except the Somali people themselves.

One cannot but question the wisdom behind Kenya’s open-border policy with a failed state. Kenya should take urgent measures to secure her porous border with Somalia. While creating a buffer region along the Kenyan border may help,it cannot substitute the responsibility of Kenya to secure her borders. The refugees crossing into Daadab should be screened to ensure that Daadab is free of international terrorists. Kenya and UNHCR should not appear to conflict over this issue. It would also be important for Kenya, Igad and UNHCR to redistribute the 500,000 Somali refugees currently in Daadab camp either to other countries or to the safer areas of southern Somalia.

When the Kenyan community in the Northern Kenya complains of economic marginalization, Nairobi should pay attention. More budgetary allocations should be directed to that part of the country to make it more habitable. What comes to mind is irrigation-based agriculture, wind mills, slaughter houses, and of course roads. There is empirical evidence that economic growth of an area improves its security. To secure the country, Kenya must show a greater concern for the northern frontier district.

At the UN level, Kenya should agitate for the declaration of a no fly zone over Somalia and the imposition of a naval blockade on Somalia’s vast coastline. This is especially important in the port city of Kismayu which has been the life-line of the al shabaab.

There is no doubt that this war can be won with the full cooperation of the international community. When history is written, Kenya will be celebrated for having taken the first step towards stabilising Somalia.

(Sammyfrank is a student of international studies at the University of Nairobi. This article was written on 27^th October 2011.Some developments may have occurred that may render parts of the article to appear to have been overtaken by events. My sincere regrets) 

Changes in my blog.

Dear friends,for the time that I have been posting on this platform, I have always used the title of `The Educator`.I chose that title with a very broad understanding of the word Educator.I consider the process of learning and teaching to be much more than the scope of  classroom walls.For example the power of the mass media in education cannot be ignored.

Having said that, I am aware of some people who consider the process of learning as strictly what takes place in the classroom interaction between teachers and their students.I am personally a trained teacher and would comfortably fit in such a desciption.My worry is that if I allowed this definition of Educator to carry the day, there are so many other people who will not think that they can find anything useful from my blog.....they may not be educators themselves in the traditional sense of the word.

To consider such friends, I have decided to change the name of my blog to `SammyFrank`.That is simply my name...nay, my pen-nname.I want to be free to tackle the real issues that affect the community that I live in.I want to enjoy the freedom of being let to think without being enclosed in any stereotyped box.

I am going to focus much more on issues of governance.I want to study and understand Africa.I know there is a better tommorrow for this continent.

Welcome.

Sam.

CELEBRATING MY TEACHERS.

Teachers affect destiny, so the saying goes. It is not just an old adage. The impact of a good teacher on her apprentices is without measure. I have been lucky to have met some very remarkable teachers in life and I choose to celebrate them on this platform.

Start with the childhood. I don’t remember exactly when I met Mrs. Ngotho for the first time. I should have marked that moment. She was to remain my class teacher for the next eight years. A really amazing teacher who powerfully influenced those of us who were placed in her keen watch. For other kids at Gatiiguru Primary School, we were considered unfortunate for having fallen into the hands of such a demanding disciplinarian. It was not for nothing that madam got the soubriquet “lion of Judah”.

I really didn’t need to fear her unrelenting cane. I was most of the times in her good books. Credit to my dad who worked hard to ensure that I and my siblings grew up properly trimmed. It doesn’t mean that madam was  impartial in the implementation of discipline. I also got a few incidences when my hands got ‘hot’ from the thrashing of her rod. But that was not all about her. She was my teacher of English for most of my years in primary school. At some point she also taught me Mathematics. Her dedication to the service left an indelible impression in my life. I remember visiting her at a school where she was the head when I faced some difficulties in my undergrad. Without elaborating too much, I must say that I got a mentor and a friend in that honorable lady.

The late Mr. Maina J.E. was the principal of Githumu high school starting from 1991.I joined the school at a time when the discipline and the academic performance of the school was quite wanting. I remember the taunts of some neighboring schools that used to say that ours was a ‘sleeping giant’.

I and my colleagues kind of conspired to cooperate with the principal. Saying that Mr. Maina was hard working would at best be an understatement. Many were the days when we would find him late in the night hunting after truants. The efforts of the bespectacled deft man were rewarded when my cohort sat for the KCSE to achieve quite outstanding results.

Two teachers at Moi University easily became my favourites. Mr. Jack Lumallas taught me History of Education. I have a soft spot for history and the teacher was quick to notice my passion. I should mention here that Lumallas was so much resembled Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta that he was popularly known as ‘Kenyatta’ among the students. He used to adorn bangles and necklaces made of African beads which all the more exaggerated that resemblance to the ‘burning spear.’ Seeing my passion for history, Jack once lent me his unpublished manuscript of a history of education book to use during revision for the end of semester exams. Needless to say, my interaction with ‘Kenyatta’ made my stay at Moi much more fruitful.

The late Mr. Mugondo was a teacher of philosophy of education. In class, my classmates must remember how Mr.Mugondo would poke fun on his own physique. I got to interact with the ‘sage’ as I undertook the teaching practice at Sirikwa Secondary School in Eldoret. After the session, we would meet to evaluate my performance near his car at the parking bay. It was his turn to make fun on me and we both enjoyed the banter. I became a better teacher following his sustained counsel.

A narration of my stay at Sirikwa Secondary School would be incomplete without a mention of a certain Mr.Elijah. He was a long serving Chemistry teacher in the school and I learnt a lot of adroitness in the trade from him. For that I am forever grateful.

In the course of my practice I was privileged to have met another extraordinary teacher. I met the late Mr.Nderitu, formerly the director of Pink Roses academy in teachers’ in-service training seminars popularly known as SMASSE.

Many teachers have a very negative attitude towards the seminars. I did not allow the negativity to dampen my enthusiasm. While I don’t agree with all that is taught at SMASSE or even the way it is implemented, I still find it beneficial to participate in the training. Mr.Nderitu was a trainer with many years of experience in teaching Chemistry. He portrayed a rare blend of subject mastery and people skills.      We together conducted a number of experiments very much to my own benefit.

Professor G.Nagendrappa is the professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University Of Mysore, India. He was the serving Chairman of the Department of Chemistry in the University from 2008-2011. (The Chairmanship of the department rotates among the professors in the department on a 3 year term.)When I call the benign professor ‘appa’, Kannadda for ‘father’ it is not an exaggeration. Professor GN is not only highly knowledgeable in his area but also very willing to share the knowledge with his apprentices. He has an intelligent way of incorporating contemporary issues into his teaching which makes his class all the more interesting. He supervised my thesis project and in the process passed on to me his knowledge, passion and compassion. I also got lots of insight from smt. Sheila and smt. Alumello, both of whom were PhD scholars under the professor.

All these teachers and many others made important contributions to what I am and to what I intend to become. Some of these teachers even influenced me into the choice of teaching as a career. I consider myself lucky to have met not only humane but also highly competent teachers. 

I have been a teacher for more than a decade now. I am not yet contented with the results that I have posted in the years. I must however say that I have tried to go that extra mile in terms of creativity and delivery for the sake of my students. The wisdom gleaned from my teachers has been useful in making me not only a better teacher but also a better person.

I have done my small part to impact the lives of my students during my teaching career. I however am aware that I have a wide room for improvement. I will appreciate your suggestions and comments on this platform.

CALLING THE CLERGY TO PROBITY

Asking whether Kenya is corrupt is like asking whether the pope is catholic. We are corrupt to the core. Our markets are corrupt. Our politics stink to high heavens. I even doubt whether the state house would pass the test of probity. (Memories of Magaryan brothers are still a bother to the Kenyan conscience. How much gets swept under the red carpet is only a subject of speculation.)

A word about the judiciary. In 2003, the newly elected NARC government attempted to clean up the judiciary. Judges suspected of corruption were subjected to an independent tribunal.The much hyped activity didn’t yield the break that the country was yearning for. The real break for the country may have come with the promulgation of the new constitution and the appointment of Judge Willy Mutunga as the Chief Justice. While graft still thrives in the corridors of justice in this country, we can safely assume that the worst is behind us now.

My worry now is the clergy especially those of the Christian hue. Civil society is incomplete without the active representation of the people of the cloth. When a section of the clergy caves in to decadence and moral famine, we must get worried as a nation.

The history of this nation is richer with the sacrifices of the true servants of God who really moved the nation to circumspection. Think of the late Fr. John A. Kaiser of the catholic diocese of Kilgoris. This humble servant of God stood against the excesses of the provincial administration and paid the ultimate price for the courage. He died in suspicious circumstances as he fought for justice for his flock.

(I will write more about bishop Gitaari after I have read his book ‘Let the bishop speak’)

The blood of Reverend Kipsang Muge still cries for justice for the poor of this country. The voices of Bishops Ndingi Mwana a’ Nzeki and Henry Okullu cried into the ears of autocracy until the ground moved. Reverend Njoya is probably the latest of a clergy that stood courageously against official oppression of the state.

What of today? Gone are the days when the house of God was a refuge for the weak. The tag ‘conscience of the nation’ no longer refers to our pastors, priests, bishops and imams. The largest portion of the clergy in Kenya has taken to heart the capitalist creed; ‘greed is good.’ It is now official; church is big business. Heartless, shameless, reckless and embarrassing. It is no longer about plundering hell of souls; it is the economy stupid!

A rider here may be in order. While I will restrict my views to Christian leaders, it doesn’t mean that the muslim and hindu practitioners of ‘the call’ are any cleaner from the blame.I just choose to narrow my scope for the purpose of this article only. If I were to write about the muslim and hindu clergy in Kenya, I don’t think that I would need to change my adjectives to describe them.

I recently witnessed a church break up in rural Gatanga constituency. The pastor used to work in Nairobi and would only come home for the weekend. The church ‘elders’ were largely idle. Trouble started when the church hosted a missionary couple from America. I am sure Isaac and Emma, for those were their names, know better than dishing money in the name of service to God.

I noticed the ‘elders’ start holding meetings in the weekdays when the pastor was not in. I suspected something was amiss. A few weeks later, the truth came out. Behind the back of the pastor, the church ‘elders’ with the financial support of the missionaries purchased a plot and registered a new church. A temporary structure came up within a week in the name of the church building. They then hired goons to steal chairs and even the toilet! from our church and transport them to the new ‘place of worship’. Voila! A new church had been born. It only took a week or so to convince the members to move to the new church.

With church leaders like these, Kenya surely can do without the devil. What happened in Gatanga happens across this country quite frequently.

You heard of the Bishop who used to take millions for offering prayers to the city fathers? Now it is public knowledge that the Nairobi city council is one of the most corrupt institutions anywhere in the world. Asking Bishop Njoka to raise a voice against the rot in city hall would be akin to asking him to bite the finger that feeds him.

The import of what I am saying is that church leaders should not only be above reproach. They should be seen to be so. Preaching water while imbibing choice wines only leads the flock further and further from God. And we have a more dangerous nation.

Ask Kenyans to draw the image of a man of God today. You will not get the picture of a wise shepherd holding the shepherd’s staff in a watchful gaze. A suitable image would be that of a vicious viper with fangs exposed to devour the sheep of the flock. Any wonder why congregations are dwindling?

In 2007, many church leaders colluded with politicians to fleece money from the general public by creating the now infamous ‘pyramid schemes’. When the pseudo-financial institutions came falling like packs of cards, the media crafted the word “gullible.” The church leaders prayed that we get a strong dose of amnesia and the government went mum just as expected.

Ethnic discord is the fodder that feeds our politics. Churches have done little to address this evil. It got worse in 2007 when even mainstream church leaders threw all care to the winds in support of their kinsmen in the political race of the day.

Whatever that happened to the National Council of Churches of Kenya under Rev. Canon Karanja! In his watch, the NCCK has become a non-entity in the socio-political affairs of this country. It should be remembered that the NCCK under the Rev. Mutava Musyimi in 1997 led the then president Moi and the opposition to sign the famous IPPG agreement. That agreement allowed the opposition parties to nominate their representatives to the electoral commission of Kenya. That agreement raised the standards of admissibility of Kenya’s electoral conduct. When history repeated itself in 2007, the NCCK stuck its head in the sand. The country went for elections with an electoral team that lacked public confidence. And sure to the script; the country erupted in the worst violence since independence following disputed results.

The Kiambaa tragedy should have awakened the church. Children and women were burnt to death in an Eldoret church. That is the epitome of the heinousness of the Kenyan society. But the worse bit is that we did not learn any lesson from that season of madness. Kenya may still implode again. (I digress; if not for anything else, that Kiambaa issue will surely cause the ICC to confirm cases against some Kenyans. Call me later in 2012.) After such a dereliction of national duty, the best that the NCCK under Rev. Karanja could do was to “repent” of the sins of “omission and commission.”Shame!

 The 10^th parliament had a large number of members of the clergy. Whether we got better or worse representation from these notables is not mine to tell. All what I can tell is that the voice of reason that should have spoken to save Kenyans from the dictatorship of the legislature didn’t come from any of the honorable members.

“Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless;

Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy;

Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”(Psalm 82:3-4, NIV)

This is the highest call of the Christian religious leaders. Any slight deviation from that standard is inexcusable.

There have been reports of sexual impropriety among church leaders in Kenya. Some leaders have also been known to result to dubious tricks to win members to their congregation. I know of a case from across the border in Uganda. (See The East African Magazine, July 16-22, 2007)A top Kampala Pentecostal preacher was returning home with a package that was passed as a “toy”. The customs official insisted on having a look. Inside the package was a gadget with a battery powered mechanism. The gadget is concealed in the clothes of the wearer. When activated, it produces an electric shock. The wearer of the gadget only receives a portion of the shock but the person he touches receives a stronger one. The recipient of the shock may fall down and shiver but the shock is not strong enough to kill. Miracle workers in Uganda had been using these gadgets to cause their followers that they were receiving the power of the “holy spirit”.

While I am not aware of Kenyan pastors going that ‘hi-tech’, I am aware of some local preachers who are employing some quite ungodly powers to aid their trade.

In this age when we are merchandising miracles and anointing oil, are we supposed to accept anything that comes? Kenyans beware.

(Written on 11^th December 2011)