Echoes of Silence: Faith Fractured in the Church’s Shad

The call was made as the Finance Bill 2024 was introduced on the floor of the house to be debated upon and subsequently passed, as many leaders had made it clear. It started with a public outcry on the punitive sections in the bill. The house conducted a so-called public participation and indeed some citizens came out to outline the issues they had with the bill.

The public participation seemed not enough as the outcry was loud and clear, “REJECT FINANCE BILL 2024”. This then led to the government dropping some controversial sections of the bill like VAT on bread, motor vehicle tax and others. This was to calm the nerves of the public as the bill went for the second reading in parliament. Unfortunately, this time round it was not business as usual as the #OccupyParliament protest was a rolling stone.

The protests happened and intensified as the bill sailed through, all this time the religious leaders were silent and did not comment. This angered a section of Kenyans as this was a thing of public interest and therefore it was expected that religious leaders who amass a huge following would be among the first to speak up for the people. The young Gen-Z that was purportedly the leaders of the countrywide protests did not hide their anger.

They accused the religious leaders, in this case church leaders for supporting the government because of the hefty amount of  money they received from politicians during fundraisings. A call was made for #OccupyChurches as the bill had passed through the voting stage despite the loud call against it. Therefore, out of expression of their feelings, the protestors vowed not to allow politicians speak in their sacred places of worship. This then called the nation to ask about the role of religious institutions during times as this.

Being figures of moral authority, the country expected that the church would make a statement of support to the people against the punitive finance bill 2024. The expectations were that since the President was a ‘God-fearing’ man then the church could easily get to him, this was mainly in regard to the political card of religion that was used widely by H.E Dr. William Samoei Ruto during his campaigns in 2022.

In addition to that, the protestors expected to be shielded from police brutality by the church through statements and also provision of asylum to those affected. In this case, the church failed as the Holy Family Basilica was blamed for the inhuman nature of chasing peaceful protestors who were seeking asylum in the 120-year-old building. Though the church’s leadership defended itself, the wound was already inflicted. Contrary to that Jamia Mosque provided a space for medical teams to be able to attend to injured protestors from the onset of the protests. This then begs the question “Why would the church be silent at such a time?”

Nonetheless, they weren’t entirely silent as a group of young Christians came out on 23^rd of June, 2024 in large numbers to peaceful protest in the streets of the Central Business District. A number of Christian youth organizations joined in rebuking the government but a little too late. The church therefore needs to redefine their involvement in politics and matters of public interest being that 85% of the Kenyan population are Christians.

About the Author

Sam Gikundi

Sam is a law student at Africa Nazarene University with a passion for justice and mediation as well as a certified mediator. Beyond the legal field, he is an accomplished actor, master of ceremony (MC), and voice-over actor, bringing creativity and charisma to every role. He is a strong advocate for online freedoms and privacy. Additionally, he is also a minister of the gospel.