Well known activist Boniface Mwangi has expressed his disappointment on how the church in Kenya has changed the tune and is not playing its expected role.
“A friend of mine was invited to speak at a gathering of pastors and he told them that if all churches in Kenya closed, our economy wouldn’t collapse. They were terribly offended, but what he said is true. Although mainstream churches are a pillar of the education and health sectors, the church in Kenya contributes almost nothing to the country’s GDP.” He started.
And then he continued;
“On paper, the church invests to send the faithful to heaven; the proverbial land of milk and honey. But in reality, the faithful mostly live hand to mouth, so that pastors can wallow in milk and honey right here on earth. Nothing illustrates the moral bankruptcy within the church more than its shameless association with corruption. Instead of being a house of God, the church has become the institution that legitimizes corrupt politicians by collecting sacks of stolen money from them amid ululations. The clergy have become so immoral that they leave pulpit for crooked, wife beating politicians who walk around with armed goons.”
And to reminisce about the good old days;
“It was not always like this. The place of Henry Okullu, Maurice Otunga, David Gitari, Timothy Njoya, Ndingi Mwana-a-Nzeki in fighting injustice and agitating for a new constitutional order is sacrosanct. In days gone by, these men of the cloth spoke truth to power from the pulpit and fearlessly challenged state tyranny in di cult and perilous times.”
And he was not done;
“The pulpit used to be a place where spiritual leaders would rebuke state sanctioned corruption, but it has now been turned into a place where the corrupt find refuge and share whatever they have stolen with the clergy. Every Sunday, corrupt politicians whose hands reek of theft occupy pulpits and lie how God has blessed them.”
And his parting shot;
“Churches have turned the faithful into meek, miracle seeking zombies who believe tithe supersedes hard work. Pastors have broken their fighting spirit to the point where they believe poverty is fine — even when it is state sanctioned. Our pastors have elected to pray for our bad leaders, especially when they hail from the same community, instead of launching the spear of God against them.
The church has enslaved our minds and broken us.”
