John Cardinal Njue led several top catholic bishops to condemn CORD rallies countywide claiming the rising political temperatures are ‘not healthy’ for the nation.
However, a section of Christians cannot help but notice the contradiction between the current CORD national dialogue rallies and the “prayer rallies” which President Uhuru and Deputy President William Ruto engaged in soon after being indicted by the ICC in 2012 with regard to church reaction.
Two political sides. One side seem to find favor with the church establishment despite serious questions, some time moral questions, on it. The other side invites church opprobrium even when acting within the law. For how can you explain why Njue did not condemn ‘prayer rallies’ then but is fooling with ‘national dialogue’ now? Last names (tribalism)? Maybe.
The catholic church and Njue were among the staunchest supporters of Uhuru’s prayer rallies. In fact, in Eldoret, the presiding catholic clergy in the region, Bishop Cornelius Korir ‘blessed’ the two politicians. Cardinal Njue turned the other eye. That was a two years prior to the 2014 elections.
Earlier in 2007, Njue never condemned Kibaki and PNU for rigging the elections – and plunging the country into ethnic strife – but actively called on ODM and Raila to accept the ‘verdict’ and stop calls for mass action. He never condemned the post-poll violence perpetrators but when the ICC named those suspected to be culpable, Njue and ilk claimed, like most politicians then gravitating around Uhuru, that what was important was ‘peace and reconciliation’. Conveniently, he and others left out justice.
But God is a judge.
Sadly, even the massive disparities in compensations to IDPs did not attract Njue’s religious garb.
In the 2014 elections, prior to and after, the catholic church led the way with calls for peace. This would serve only those who use peaceful times to commit violent bloodless political robberies. Cardinal Njue urged, like other Jubilee politicians, preached that the electoral outcome should be accepted even as Raila Odinga indicated he would move to the Supreme Court to challenge the results.
In the post-2014 government formation, even as Uhuru and Ruto filled the government with members of their two tribes, Njue and most of Mt Kenya religious leaders maintained a studious silence. In a country of 42 communities, Njue did not and has not condemned the massive isolation of others from government, despite the fact that all citizens pay taxes and deserve equal opportunities.
Njue has been silent on the face of massive social upheavals. It is also difficult to tell why he wallows in double standards.
Njue criticized Obama when he supported Gay rights but failed to criticize the Pope when the Pope himself supported Gay rights, and said who is he to judge.
He failed to criticize Archbishop Desmond Tutu when he supported gay rights and even said that if God is homophobic then he would not worship Him.
What’s so wrong with a national dialogue? Njue claims that the dialogue should be within ‘institutions; yet Kenyans remember that both struggle for plural democracy and end to one party dictatorship occured outside the confines of then government institutions.
Njue claims political rallies byu CORD is causing tension in the country but is very silent in all indications that the government is inept and that deaths of Kenyans is being orchestrated by it. To date, no one knows what happened in Westgate. To date, the response of the government on Mpeketoni points to a complicity as those in government – those Njue is protecting their interests – shores up their waning support due to manifest incompetence.
Instead of defending the freedom of speech, he is assisting in the gagging against the opposition who, as per the constitution, have all the rights to hold political rallies anywhere in the country.
Is this just because he sees them not belonging to the side of the oppressor? not belonging to the right tribe – his tribe?
Is their any difference between Njue’s role and that of Aden Duale? They both speak the same. They both see Kenya in the same sense. Njue sees Kenya as a place where only one side has both a say and a way. Have you heard Njue condemn Anglo-Leasing payments? Have you heard Njue condemn ethnic profiling and condescending attitude of most Jubilee leaders, including the President who recently made a very polarising and profiling statement with regard to Mpeketoni? Have you heard Njue call onm the government to address Baringo hunger and deaths?
The tragedy with Njue’s actions is that people – those whom he does not represent – begin to see the Kikuyu clergy in the same lens as the Kikuyu politician. The results can be catastrophic. It should not be forgotten that Kiambaa Church in Eldoret was razed to the ground with people inside simply because the line between PNU politicians then and the catholic church leadership, in deed, with several other evangelical churches, became extremely thin and blurred.
The church, in all fairness, should keep off politics, especially tribal politics.