Scoring the Sinking Ship: The Choir at Bomas

Two days ago, the identity of the President-Elect was revealed to the country. As usual, drama ensued. 

As our newly elected officials brawled with the Chairperson of Kenya's Electoral Management Body, thus denying him the opportunity to announce the winner, and as four Commissioners rejected the Chairperson's results, the choir sang on. Literally. They sang about God's grace and his bountiful mercies, as politicians tussled, literally and figuratively, with the outcome of the 2022 Presidential Election. And for their commitment and professionalism, they should be recognised. After all, it is not easy to score the sounds of a sinking ship. Just ask the violinists of the Titanic! But as we recognise the choir for enabling a calm atmosphere, we cannot overlook the content of their performance. 

As a friend pointed out to me the songs they sang, predominantly, extolled the virtues of the Christian faith. There is nothing wrong with the gospel focus; if it were being performed at a church or a religious event or among people of the same faith. But at an event designed to symbolise national unity, it represented the unconscious, and near-constant, elevation of Christianity. Not simply because the choir, when singing songs of faith, sang gospel music, but because it does seem like an attempt was made to include other faiths in the electoral fete. Why else would a priest be called on to pray, but no words of supplication or benediction were provided by an Imam (Islam) or a Pujari (Hinduism) or a Rabai (Judaism)? Are their words of blessing not as important as those of a Christian priest? Or perhaps they are less necessary? And if so, why?

The truth is Kenya is not a Christian nation. At best, we are a monotheistic nation; as the Constitution never mentions "Gods", plural. Having a Christian majority is not enough to render Christianity a state religion. Kenya is a multicultural and secular nation; even though the same privileges are not afforded to people of different faiths. For example, Christians are guaranteed the right to celebrate important religious holidays by dent of public holidays (Easter, Christmas). But Hindus are not. Despite the centrality of Diwali and Holi to their belief systems, followers of the Hindu faith must ask for paid time off (i.e. potentially sacrifice a day's wage in order to meaningfully participate in their faith). Furthermore, it wasn't until quite recently that the Islamic holidays of Eid-ul-Adha and Eid-ul-Fitr were celebrated as public holidays. Before, Muslims would also be asked to sacrifice in the name of their faith. You may wish to respond that such sacrifice is simply the price one must pay for faith. But I will remind you that such sacrifices, both big and small, are not demanded of Christians, and never have been. 

For the most part, Christians have been free to express their faith in a myriad of ways; without the worry of persecution. Kenya is not a place where one will be punished for being a Christian. In fact, quite the opposite. One will reap rewards, in the form of social and political clout, from public expressions of Christianity. The sincerity of this public expression is, apparently, immaterial, and I doubt that these earthly rewards are what God had in mind. Conversely, if one's faith is found to be lacking (as defined by their subscription to atheism), this will be used as a political weapon to infer that the candidate is not qualified to lead. Even though one's faith is not a determinant of one's fitness for leadership; unless you are the Pope of the Grand Ayatollah (i.e. the potential leader of a theocratic society). Instead, moral values are a determinant of one's fitness for leadership, and moral values are not faith. Faith can be the bedrock upon which the house of one's moral values are constructed and reinforced across time, but faith is not the house. This means that we should not be using faith as a substitute for the presence of morality. One can profess their Christian, Muslim, Sikh or Jewish faith. But that does not make them good people. Nor are you a better person just because you are a Christian or a Muslim. 

Having said all this, I will admit that Kenya is better than most places. People of different faith are free to express their faiths in ways that, provided they do not infringe upon the rights of others, suit them. We do not even discriminate when it comes to the politicization of faith. The Constitution protects people's freedom of religion and their right to act in accordance with that faith. Our Public Schools provide religious education in the three major faiths (Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism), and allow students to drop out of the class when they want to. So, representations of other faiths in public should not matter; if secularism is applied in key areas of public life. Especially if such representation is a spoke on the wheel of political theatre. Then it becomes nothing more than tokenism - or representation for the sake of representation that results in shallow, oversimplified depictions of the chosen culture, religion or race. 

Perhaps, the Christian priest and songs colouring the event on Monday were an act of tokenism? After all, I inferred intentionality on the part of the event planners. I assumed that the Christian feels of the event was deliberate on the part of the organizers and not an attempt to justify and sanctify political processes. Or the inevitable consequence of the Judeo-Christian world order (i.e. the idea that society is underpinned by and set up to cater to Christian beliefs). Nevertheless, the consequence of such representation on a national stage may be the reinforcing of the message that Kenya is for a select few and not everyone.

Or am I making a mountain, out of a molehill?