There is a growing movement within the church for the president to remove the Attorney General Githu Muigai from his cabinet. The church refused to meet and consult with him individually and demanded that the president be present at any meetings to discuss the way forward. During the meeting, the church presented its reasons for their displeasure with the office of the Attorney General’s machinations. The question is, is the church justified?
No other time in the history of Kenya has there been a war between church and state. Since independence in 1963 every president has gone out of his way to create an environment of mutual respect and joined societal programs. President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta created an environment where the Kenyan church played a Key role in developing education, health, and community accountability. President Daniel Arap Moi joined the church’s efforts by encouraging them to build more schools, universities, and hospitals and supported the church in its efforts to building strong families.
Even during the objections of Rev. Timothy Njoya the Presbyterian radical, the objection was not collective but individual: Not all denominations supported Njoya’s movement. Rather, as a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary he moved to Kenya to advocate for social gospel.
By the time President Mwai Kibaki took over the Kenyan State, the Church had been one of the strongest and important institutions in the republic of Kenya. Kibaki went on to continue the efforts of his predecessors. He established a good environment where those gains evident since independence were entrenched in the new constitution. The emblem of the republic within the constitution established the belief in God as a Foundational Principle of the Kenyan people: Kenyans are a God Fearing people!
After Uhuru Kenyatta took over, a new era of church bashing and blatant efforts to muzzle the church is evident. The usual trend would be a political effort to blame the president. But is he really to blame? A closer look at the woes the church in Kenya is experiencing point to a very unlikely office: The Attorney General Githu Muigai.
Githu Muigai has never been a religious man. In fact his philosophy is driven by what we call Secular Humanism: A philosophy, which espouses a society, governed by intellectual pursuit devoid of God! Some have called him an agnostic but this is credit to a man who believes God has no place in government. This fact is supported by the registrations, which he has pushed through parliament. He has done this using misleading and intellectual innuendos.
Take for example the Marriage bill, which eliminated the African Christian Marriage Act. This bill existed since independence. The new policy requires that pastors purchase a marriage license book for 25,000 Kenya shillings in order to conduct marriages. This fee is not required for any other religious group! The idea is to guarantee that the majority of poor community churches in Kenya’s rural areas cannot afford. And in any case, they have to travel to the registrar of Marriages and spend the whole day trying to convince some official that they are pastors.
When a Christian wants to get married in the church. The fee for them is 14,000 Kenya Shillings. But if a non-Christian wants to get married in a park, the cost is 7,000 Kenya shillings. However for the come we stay, it is six months of living together (no cost). There is no evidence that these fees are charged any other religious group in Kenya! Further, those who want to get married, if they decide to do it the process way, they have to come to Nairobi from wherever to get registered in order to be approved for marriage.
Recently a diasporan from the United States was forced to travel back to Kenya to Re-marry after his wife’s certificate was deemed illegimate due to these new rules! AFter marrying in Kenya, he applied for ther papers in the United States. When she went to get the official document from the Regitra of marriege, she was told that the rules has changed.
The approval has to be done by those who the attorney General will deem fit to approve such marriages. These rules and regulations guarantee that the Church is effectively marginalized and that people choose not to be associated with churches. The idea is to make Christian belief so expensive, that people opt out! This means that through registration the Attorney General Githu Muigai will achieve his goal of removing Christ from the republic of Kenya!
Then during the Christmas season (2015), when Churches were busy preparing for Christmas and the Christian members of parliament had gone out to the village, he pushed through the majority leader Aden Duale the bil titledl: Business Registration Services Board. This removed church registration from the protected clauses of societies’ act to put it under a board appointed by him- a politburo. Also he made himself the Cabinet Secretary under who the board would operate. By doing this, he guaranteed that the position of Registrar General is not filled by Christians like it has been before, but it is filled by persons appointed by him under his secular humanism criteria!
The Church is no longer a not for profit body whose role is to supplement the Governments efforts for the Good of the Society, rather, Attorney General Githu Mugai has classified the Church as a business enterprise subject to all manner of fees and taxation!
This guarantees that the thousands of churches who are teaching young children to love one another, love and respect their parents, love their neighbor, love and respect the government as is biblically mandated, avoid the evil call to be drug addiction, rapist tendencies, murders, thieves are closed down because, given the rural communities they serve, they cannot even afford to conduct a Christian Marriage.
The attorney General Githu Muigai does all this without consultation with the church, the president, or his deputy? Given that the president keeps signing these bills, the church is wondering whether this presidency will go out in history as the reign that tried to eliminate the Church of Jesus Christ from the face of Kenya.
Jesus Said, “I will build my church and the Gates of Hell will not prevail against it.” This statement has been proven true in history and the Church stands on earth as the eye of Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ in Kenya have never seen such a blatant assault on its existence. Therefore, even though the president is ordered his attorney General to consult, the church believed that the Attorney General is not a person it can work with: The Church can see that he has already put his finger in the eye of Christ and his intention is blind it so that he can create a Godless State!
The church in Kenya has also requested its members to join up in prayer knowing the consequences of the Godless Society Kenya’s Attorney General Githu Muigai is trying to create.
Teddy Njoroge Kamau (PhD)
HTBuff Associates. An EMG Consortium.
Diaspora Messenger Senior Columnist
