Mfalme Mwema

John Mbiti philosophized that Africans are notoriously religious. Official statistics say Kenya is 84% Christians, about 9% Muslim and the remainder are Hindu, Buddhist, African Indigenous Religions, animists and atheists.   As such, religion is a major socialization factor in Kenya. Our social, economic and political lives are replete with influences from our religious backgrounds.   Yet, religion has failed in socializing Kenyans with values of brotherhood, peace, love, and unity. In politics, Christian religious overtones have been used to advance the political party's agenda.   Since retired President Moi’s studious attempt to cultivate an image of a God-fearing leader, Kenyan political activities have employed the use of Christian songs and biblical narratives to persuade the common folk. President Moi’s (retired) sunset years were punctuated by Christian songs turned political protest chants. President Kibaki maintained a dignified aloofness giving the im...

The last few days have stirred up deep pride in the Church of Jesus Christ in Kenya and Africa at large.  Last week,  several church leaders in Nyanza openly called MP's and local politicians, hypocrites. The ecclesiastical leaders charged that the political leaders were doing little to help people get out of poverty.  They added that these politicians were only interested in political  succession battles.  As was expected,  the politicians from ODM,  the powerhouse in the region came out fighting. Characteristically,  they lashed out at the church leaders almost questioning their moral  credentials. Yesterday,  Evangelical Alliance of Kenya and other Christian religious organizations united in the call for them to be included in the 'handshake'.  They argue that they represent a critical segment of society. As expected,  the backlash was severe.  The constant criticism was on 'tithe eating',  'offering loving', '...

Christianity in Kenya is a daily reality, as seen through this street art.  'Re-situating reason as the foundation of our society and engine of its aspirations must now be an urgent task of our activism' the author emphatically sums up this opprobrium against the church. Yet the author (and the paper) have colluded to ignorantly launch barbs at Christianity. In summary, this piece tries to explain why religion (yet the author has the church specifically in his mind) and its growing role in Kenyan politics is a retrogressive idea. His idea is that reason and religion (church) can never co-exist. He goes further on a historical fishing (mis)adventure in shallow historical waters. His intention is to prove his personal notions by trying to get history to align with his fantastic ideas. Let me quote a few of his blunt sayings. 'Human beings need spiritual fulfilment. But when religion becomes a substitute for strategic action to solve our problems, then our society is...

We began building the concept of Christian Political theology. This concept is important because it lays the foundation for born again Christians to fully engage in politics at all levels of governance. (The assumption is that Christians still are afraid in embracing politics as part of our God given divine mandate on earth. I believe this is a hangover of 'this is not our home, we are just passing by, have nothing to do with it' philosophy, which has effectively been debunked.) We dealt with the concept of God as the source of our political opinions and man as the object of these opinions. We did say that the welfare of man and his environment is the object of this theology. Let us go further into the concept of man and delineate the genders. It is evident we have a lot of work to do to bring in the woman fully into the political life of Kenya. Last week, Kenya got three women governors. This was a great step forward. We would like to see a situation where women engage ...

I woke up this morning to the whole street freshly plastered with a candidates campaign posters. Most are red and the road looks like a sea. (Was this the parable spoken before by the fathers?) These guys were obviously illegally busy last night. Dirty tricks! Anyway, today is the beginning of the next four weeks. My wife  Gakii Njeru  made me a sumptuous breakfast of 2 sausages, bacon, bread and 2 cups of tea - 6 pieces.  😋 I battled the chill and was surprisingly welcomed to seemingly empty school. In 2013, the male and female lines spilled over in different directions into the estate for several kilometers. Not this time. I checked my voting details and as usual, station 1. This can be really slow.  There will never lack drama especially when you are in the same line for four hours. The usual mumbling about the slow movement. (Someone will not get my vote. I cannot ng'ang'ana for four hours then vote for just some uncouth fellow who feels it his/her right to be...

Kenya is in a political season. Over the next 30 days (and beyond) we will be subjected to high drama, rhetoric, and political shenanigans. But the consistent image we will get of politicians is the big man (benefactor, master and Lord). This is the Modus Operandi of the campaign season. Let me sketch out a picture. The location is picked out by 'political strategists'. It is bedecked in the party colors. Massive sound systems are rigged to the grandiose stage (where the candidate will ascend as on to 'his' throne). The candidate will ride in with a motorcade comprising juggernauts sitting atop. Each vehicle follows the other in order of rank. Wearing matching party clothes with the candidates name imprinted on the chest, he will address the awed masses in party T-shirts, capes and waving banners with short, chilling messages. The TV cameras will cover every angle, including the sky cam, which will from time to time descend from heaven as if bringing the candidat...

If you live in Nairobi, then you know that matatus are the most important mode of transport. However, they are not the best form since matatus are unregulated and undisciplined. Matatus are always in a rush, breaking traffic laws and increasing fares whenever it rains. Therefore, it takes courage to travel in matatus and especially if you are a lady. Many times, getting into or alighting from matatus requires extensive acrobatic skills so as to avoid injury. Precise calculation is required for this simple feat. Since most matatus are still in motion although passengers are disembarking, it is important for ladies to know how to alight from moving matatus. Firstly, early in the morning after getting dressed, take stock of your life. A simple fall could cost you your life. Matatus are notorious for going beyond your stage; they may suffer from an undiagnosed form of recurring temporary deafness. In order to stop them, your skills must include the ability to shout at the top of yo...