I accuse the church in Kenya

My Brothers-in-Christ, as I was used to calling them, continually stressed the Americanism: hate the game, not the player. In their zeal to convert Souls to Christ, they would overlook any alleged personal moral weakness, and instead, they would dedicate their every waking moment, or so it seemed, to prayer and on some occasions, Chanting-in-Tongues. Back then, while I may have grown increasingly incredulous about the efficacy of their methods, I did not doubt the sincerity of their convictions. They may have looked like they were off their rockers, but their hearts were in the right place and I believe God Himself was speaking to, and through, them. The quality of their conviction was demonstrated ona daily basis as they went out of their way to ensure the Army of Christ emerged victorious in the Spiritual War being waged on earth for the Souls of Men.

And I may have carried on in blissful contentment if it had not been for the Bomas Conference, the 2005 and 2010 Referendums, the 2007 General Elections and the nomination of Dr Willy Mutunga for the position of Chief Justice and Nancy Baraza, Advocate, for the position of Deputy Chief justice. I should not have been surprised; the signs were there for the discerning to see: the complete and utter intolerance to the question of Family Life Education in schools; the close links between certain Men of the Cloth and President Moi and his regime; the quisling silence of the Church when outspoken members of the clergy were brutalised at the hands of the government.

But, the Bomas Conference was the first time that the Church, or at least its leadership, came out openly in its true colours: ethnically and paternalistically chauvinist, well-entrenched with the Establishment, opposed to serious constitutional reform if it did not involve the relegation of other faiths, notably Islam, to second-class status, and the blatant politicisation of church pews for or against the Second Liberation Movement. These tendrils of infamy sank deeper roots during the 2005 Referendum, the 2007 General Elections, the 2007/08 PEV Crisis, and the 2010 Referendum. The Church and its leadership, or through its leadership, acquitted itself shamefully. But, their opposition to Dr Willy Mutunga's nomination takes the biscuit.

Because of his earring, and because of his twice-divorced status, the Church has declared that Dr Mutunga's integrity is in doubt, and that he does not satisfy the conditions laid down in Chapter 6 of the Constitution (the same Constitution they opposed tooth-and-nail) on Leadership and Integrity. One of the guiding principles of leadership and integrity is "selfless service based solely on the public interest". When Dr Mutunga was a lecturer at the University of Nairobi, he served the public interest. After he was dismissed from service, and after he was unfairly incarcerated, and after he was released from prison, Dr Mutunga served the public interest. His complicated personal life did not affect the manner in which he served the public interest. The church, on the other hand, abdicated its role the moment it became 'difficult' to speak for the weak in society; instead, it joined hands with the purveyors of lies and violence, the masters of corruption and murder. Today, the church stands accused, if not of complicity in the crimes against Kenyans, at least for gross negligence in the performance of its duties to Kenyans. The church does not have the moral authority to raise doubts, not about Dr Mutunga or anyone else. At this point in its evolution, the church and the Devil share the same moral minefield; whether it can safety navigate its way back to straight and narrow all depends on whether Kenyans will pull their heads out of the sand and acknowledge that reform will not be limited to the Judiciary, but the Church, too, must be reformed.