Today on Listen Up – The Kenyan Crisis. Amidst allegations of a rigged
election, chaos and violence erupt in this once stable African nation.
Allegations of a rigged election were quick to surface in the days after Kenyans went to the polls, December 27.
And
with the allegations, serious violence erupted. Clashes with police,
tribal conflicts, and brutality, left hundreds dead, hundreds of
thousands displaced.
In a country once envied by its
neighbours for its economic and social stability, its reputation for
peace, and tolerance has been shattered.
Today, Listen Up asks
“what's being done?” We’ll speak with people on the ground in Kenya and
experts here at home to explore the consequences of corruption and the
hope for reconciliation.
THE CONTEXT
Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga was quick to condemn the
election results in the country’s hotly contested presidential
election: an election that saw him lose by a narrow margin to incumbent
Mwai Kibaki.
The unrest set off deep ethnic tensions. And in the days that followed,
violent clashes erupted between the tribes represented by the two
leaders.
In one rural area, from 30 to 50 members of the President’s
Kikuyu tribe were killed in a church, when it was set on fire by a mob.
People fled their homes by the hundreds of thousands. Roads were
closed, communications restricted, and food and gasoline were in short
supply.
Into the midst of the chaos, South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the first to arrive, to begin
talks aimed at mediating the conflict.
In the immediate aftermath of the election, Kenya's churches sprang
together to form an Alliance that is working to bring peace and
reconciliation into the midst of the turmoil. Reverend Oscar Muriu is
one of the pastor of the Nairobi Chapel and the Spiritual Chair of the
National Alliance of Churches for Kenya.
As Kenyan church leaders respond to the crisis, Canada's
Parliament has created its own effort for the corruption that's
halted democracy in Kenya. The Global Organization of
Parliamentarians Against Corruption was launched in Canada to improve
government accountability around the world. It is chaired by
Alberta member of Parliament, John Williams.
Diane Stinton is a professor of theology at Daystar University in
Nairobi, Kenya, where she has worked in missionary education for more
than 2 decades. She is the author of the book, “Jesus of
Africa.”
Twenty years ago, Charles Mulli was a successful businessman and church
leader in Kenya. But that all changed in 1989, when he wound up his
businesses and poured all of his resources into setting up a home for
Kenyan orphans and street children. This home for Kenyan orphans is
called the Mully Children’s Family.
Africa owns a rich heritage of culture, language and tradition. Yet
harsh climates, political instability and debilitating poverty
frequently define the lives of its people. In this context Partners
International works with local partners who communicate the hope of the
gospel in both word and deed. One of those partners is the Mully
Children’s Family in Kenya.
Randy Friesen grew up in Kenya - as the child of missionary parents.
Now working as the General Director for the Global Mission Agency of
the Mennonite Brethren Churches here in Canada, he still cares deeply
about the land of his childhood.
Here’s what you had to say about the situation in Kenya:
"The problem in Kenya had almost nothing to do with the elections. The
elections were only a trigger to deeper underlying issues. Unless the
gospel we preach speaks to the deeper issues of identity- of what does
it mean to be African and Christian- we will keep having eruptions of
ethnically motivated genocide." S. Njenga, South Africa
"... people in Canada should be assured that
Missionaries and other expatriates are not the target of any of this
violence even though, as you have seen, some churches have been burned.
..... I trust that you will be able to mobilize an army of people who are praying for Kenya. Murray Schmidt ,Coordinator of Short Term Ministries (Kenya) Eastern Region, Africa Inland Mission
There's a tough question we heard from several sources on today's
program: "Are we willing to be Christians first, and then members of
our tribes or cultures second?"
The question arose because Kenya
is a society that embraces faith. Seventy percent claim to be
Christian, yet the country was still rocked by tribal violence.
Theology
professor Diane Stinton told us: "before you ask the hard questions of
Africa, ask them also of our own context in Canada. African Christians
look at the West - with its materialism, its consumerism, its
immorality and they equally question; has faith truly taken root
there?" That is why we need each other to speak to our blind spots in
understanding and expressing our faith.
It would be a shame to
have listened to Kenya's need today, and then gone on our way. The
crisis in Kenya is a challenge to me. It's a chance to love Kenya's
children as if they were our own. And then to reflect on just what it
will take to refine my faith so it actually causes me to be Christian
first, and then a member of my culture, second.
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On April 30, 2005 Lorna was privileged to receive an honorary Doctorate of Christian Ministries from Canada's largest Christian university, Trinity Western University. Lorna was recognized for the witness and leadership that Listen Up TV has provided in public messaging: "a leader in the voice of evangelical life in Canada."
