Martha Karua, the most visible minister of the Kibaki cabinet will just not leave the spotlight. At least not just yet.
Now an off the cuff remark she made two days ago has raised a furor amongst many Kenyan churches. The minister said something to the effect that since the government was now seeking to legislate political parties, it also had a duty to protect its' citizens from certain churches and the government was considering doing this through a new act.
The tough Minister of constitutional affairs with many admirers, including this blogger needs to tread carefully on this one. This is an election year and there are certain toes that one does not tread on. Namely churches and teachers. You just don’t want to do that if you plan to win elections in this country. This issue of trying to introduce legislation on churches and church activities is a political hot potato, madam.
It seems that the Narc-Kenya high command has been deeply incensed by the declaration in recent times by popular evangelical personalities like Pastor Pius Muiru and Bishop Margaret Wanjiru that they were seeking political office. Both personalities are prosperous TV evangelists who raise millions of shillings from the public for their ministry. The feeling amongst certain quarters is that it is not ethical to have these funds diverted into politics. But if truth be told, the real reason is that any smart politician knows that entry of popular church people into Kenyan politics spells doom for them because it will automatically change the ground rules and established politicians may not be able to thrive in the new environment. In others words, their entry is a serious threat to many.
What will make this business of legislating churches even uglier just now is that the views of older more established churches like the Catholic church on the new evangelical churches who they have lost people to in large numbers, are well known. The so-called big churches have always said that government action against these upstarts in their eyes is already long overdue. Because of this, questions will not fail to be asked as to whether Justice Minister Hon Karua is getting advice on the matter from what some of our readers are now referring to as her midnight ice cream friend—Father Wamugunda.
Read what churches had to say about Karua’s proposed legislative move.
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Like her hate her, Martha is one lady made of stunnner stuff. But that said she sometimes allows that perception to crowd and cloud her vision. The end result is some personality in the neighbourhood of bravado, brinkmanship and sheer arrogance.
ReplyDeleteIt needs no rocket science to discern the fact that Kibaki's governmemt is not comfortable with the so-called charismatic evangelical churches. True, the Muiru's and Wanjirus of this world are nothing but religious warlords who cleverly take adavatge of their flock to amass wealth under the pretext of evangelism.
But that said, it cannot be used against them especially now that they seem to be gravitating towards the opposition unlike the so-called mainstream churches which are intimately in bed with the government and sometimes even competing with Mutua in defending the indefensible.
The special place of the church in people's lives cannot be gainsaid. Anchored on dogma with no recourse to criticism, these people of the cloth have hyper thin skin for quetions. Karua may mean well for Kenyans by saving us from ourselves and the religious scavengers whose only qualificatio is the ability to regurtitate few choisy words from the holy book like rightiousness and glory. But she may on the same breathe be chewwing more than she can swallow and the cost will be poltical constipation aka rejection. These chaps delve in faith and tales unlike real life that demands facts and the truth.
Chris, the timing of Karua's outburst might be wrong, but I think it is high time these churches and their leaders were made accountable. These churches have been fully commercialized and it is only fair that they too be treated in the same manner as other businesses. This is a law all Kenyans must support. You must also remember terrorist cells exist in some mosques. It is a law churches will resist and even ask their faithful to vote against government, but at the end of the day we realise the law is aimed at bringing about transparency in our religious bodies.
ReplyDeleteDonors send millions of dollars to these religious organisations to spread the word of christ and for humanitarian activities, but you and I know that these funds end up in leaders pockets and very little, if any, of it is used to spread the word.
For once, I think I agree with Iron Lady Karua on this.
Hi Chris
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interesting post
i think what the govt wants to do is wrong
In my opinion, it's not so much that our churches already have their own way of doing things (therefore the Govt should not legislate them); it's more a case of the govt. can't even regulate itself let alone a large body like the church!
If the church, with the voluntary peanuts it collects from kenyans, has done something with that and "become commercial", how does the govt. stand accused with the mandatory taxes they've been collecting for the past 43 years and we still 50% under the poverty line?
Physician heal thyself. u can't legislate the choice of people. prove what you can do with 10% first then judge the church and warn it to shape up if you must