In the preamble of the Constitution of Kenya 2010: We the people of Kenya, Acknowledging the supremacy of the Almighty God of all creation: Honouring those who heroically struggled to bring freedom and justice to our land: Proud of our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, and determined to live in peace and unity as one indivisible sovereign nation… Adopt, Enact and give this Constitution to ourselves and to our future generations. God bless Kenya. I will have you know that God is mentioned eleven other times in the entire document mostly in the prescription of the different oaths of office. Kadhi’s courts are also established under this constitution. The jury is still out on whether we are truly a secular state. The internet has recently been buzzing with rhetoric on the separation of church and state in reaction to the 5th President and his wife’s public zeal for the good Lord with many having sleepless nights at the thought of several prayer sessions that they will not attend. I have read and watched with bemusement at the same Kenyans; who clamour for the government gazettement of religious holidays (read Eid, Easter, Diwali and have been giving Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) and Wakorino flak for not giving them an excuse for a holiday; now claim with their whole chest that Kenya is a secular state. Kwani niko nchi ingine?
Most nations, even the professed “secular” states, still have religious elements in their establishments. In fact, France is the only country that is closest to being truly secular in the real sense of the word.
While we are all at liberty to cherry-pick and choose when we want to be secular or religious, we need to pick a struggle jameni. Apart from atheists’ voices that keep being drowned out, I don’t see anyone complaining about public officers taking religious oaths of office but praise and worship in State House is where you draw the line. Smh! The proponents of separation of church and state have thrown around the fallacy that prosperous Western nations are apparently not religious; is the Vatican a joke to you? A quick search would let you know that the Vatican is one of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world and your guess is as good as mine on the relationship between the church and the state. How about the Anglican establishment in England, don’t pretend you didn’t see them on full display the other day at the Queen’s funeral. Na Dubai je? Ebu muwache wana!
But let’s just go there for a minute and indulge y’all wannabe anticlerical folks. The concept of church and state is largely Christian with an emphasis on the religious and political powers in society being clearly distinct, but let’s work with religion and state instead of church and state as a broader concept. For all intents and purposes, Kenya is a secular state and the recent public prayers have people’s panties in a bunch at the threat that we are soon going to be turned into a theocracy is imminent with religion being used as an excuse for justification of state policies and failure of the same. Although some theocracies like the United Arab Emirates and the Vatican are thriving, others like Iran and Afghanistan are a train-wreck. Most nations, even the professed “secular” states, still have religious elements in their establishments. In fact, France is the only country that is closest to being truly secular in the real sense of the word.
I reckon that y’all are not mad at the prayers, but are really upset at the 5th for having the audacity (read odosity) to unabashedly profess his religion in your faces in spite of being the “chief of sinners”. Badala ya kizungu mingi ya church and state just be honest and be judgmental in peace as you live a saintly life in your fragile glass houses.
Religion in and of itself is neither a bad or a good thing, it just depends on how it finds expression in the various contexts. Abhijit Naskar said that “the character of a nation comes not from the character of its leader, but from that of the citizens” so whether we perish or prosper is entirely dependent on each and every mwananchi because character has no tribe or religion. Tujiangalie.
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