It would be unwise for State to ignore Catholic bishops' counsel

President William Ruto received by Rt. Rev. Dr. George Mechumo, Bishop Anglican Church of Kenya, Bungoma Diocese when he attended the Sunday church Serviceon September 01, 2024. [PCS, Standard]

Since President William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza government are “born again” and have demonstrated their commitment to the word of God on several occasions, there is a biblical anecdote they need to revisit for some lessons. Like many other Kenyans, all we ask is that the government take correction from the Church - the voice of the people.

History records that between 874 BC and 853 BC, there arose a king in Israel whose story can be found in 1 Kings 22:1-28 and 2 Chronicles 18. This king, who was subsequently used in the Bible as a universal standard for wickedness, decided to attack another city in his quest to expand his kingdom.

Although there was nothing wrong with seeking to expand his territory, the king was mandated by their theocratic law to do an equivalent of what we call “public participation” in modern democracies. Under theocracy, this “public participation” came as a consultation from the sovereign King of Kings (God) to approve actions that involved putting the lives of his soldiers on the line.

Just like in democracies where the sovereign power lies with the people, any government carrying out important matters affecting the lives of the people must listen to those who hold the sovereign power—the people.

However, determined to proceed, the king sought this ‘public participation’ from his own prophets in his courts. As is usual with “state house” resident advisers, they issued advisories that pleased the king’s heart.

Later, a colleague advised the king to seek an independent advisory from another prophet. The king reluctantly pointed out that the only person in the kingdom qualified to audit his government proposals does not issue friendly advisories.

When the colleague insisted, the said prophet whose name was Micaiah was summoned, and true to the king’s fears, his word was contrary to the king’s advisors. The king, enraged at Micaiah’s conclusions, slapped the prophet, jailed him, and his cabinet commissioned the army to proceed to the war. To cut the long story short, the king was killed in his occupation battle, just as the independent prophet had said.

The Church, like the biblical Prophet Micaiah, speaks truth to power even when the truth is unpopular. It is an act of love to the country and to their president to be truthful. If the Church fails to prioritise truth and righteousness, society will descend into the doldrums under bad governance.

It is better for the Kenya Kwanza government to sit down and reflect on the advisories from the Church, civil society, and other non-governmental organisations. These organisations are not pro-government; they are pro-people—on whose shoulders the sovereign power rests.

That is why when the Kenyan Conference of Catholic Bishops on November 15 asked the government to be true to its promises, it was improper to dismiss them —the church corrects, advises, and gives direction to the government.

To play its role in promoting good governance, the Church, based on biblical teachings and values, offers moral and ethical guidance to administrations. Issues of corruption and other attendant injustices are against the teachings of the Church. As a custodian of moral and ethical teachings, the Church can point out these evils so that the government can be guided.

Correction is painful, and only regimes that are willing and obedient can benefit from such advisories. Therefore, hitting back at the Church as we saw last week is not only unethical on the part of the government, but also akin to burying its head in the sand.

The Church has little political interest in governance; their interest is that justice, in all its forms and manifestations, be done for the benefit of all citizens.

Our Constitution is highly loaded with moral and ethical principles that are congruent with biblical and other religious teachings such as the need for social justice, accountability, transparency, and ethical leadership.

Dr Ndonye is a senior lecturer at Kabarak University’s Department of Mass Communication