“Pulpit power” and the unrelenting voice of Archbishop David Gitari in the democratisation of Kenya, 1986 to 1991

This article sets out to analyse the role of pulpit preaching in the struggle towards the re-emergence of multi-party democracy in Kenya. It argues that through "pulpit power", certain clerics, notably David Gitari, Alexander Muge, Henry Okullu and Timothy Njoya, initiated a process of transformation as individual activists at a time when the state had effectively silenced voices that demanded political change. It then moves on to chronicle David Gitari\u27s sermons as a case in point to demonstrate that his political sermons promoted a culture of defiance in the country and marked the genesis of the so called "second liberation" in Kenya. It relies on archival sources and correspondence material as well as a number of searching in-depth oral interviews

The Church and the 1929 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) contestation in Kenya, with special reference to the Scottish Presbyterian Church and the Kikuyu community

Peer reviewedInitiation rites are the lifeblood of most African communities. In East Africa, these rites are part of traditional beliefs and customs, and may include physical mutilation,. In Kenya, particularly, the initiation rite was seen as a graduation ceremony and a means of enculturation, giving a sense of identity. The arrival of European missionaries in the early 20th century set the stage for contestation between Christianity, as understood by the European missionaries, and the African leaders over the rite of initiation. Female genital mutilation was at the core of this contestation. Missionaries perceived the practice as not only brutal and oppressive but also medically and hygienically undesirable. They considered it foreign to both their culture and to Christianity. It was barbaric and primitive, by their standards. They felt it was deserving of church discipline. In 1929, this rite was vigorously attacked by a number of influential European agencies, missionaries, pro-African bodies and government educational and medical authorities. An injunction was put out by the missionary churches preventing circumcised girls and their parents from attending church and school. The African leaders and cultural systems hit back strongly, especially against the church. In 1930, a strong challenge against the missionary position was launched by the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) in Nyeri. The result was the opening of independent schools and churches. These independent churches tolerated FGM and many other African cultural practices. Whereas the African Independent Churches (AICs) demanded religious freedom from what they perceived as cultural imperialism, however, they in turn denied freedom to children and women who had for years been suppressed by patriarchal ideals. This article outlines the 1929 contestation in Kenya with regard to female genital mutilation, with special reference to the Scottish Presbyterian Church and the Kikuyu community. It endeavours to demonstrate that the point at issue between the Missionary Church and the African Independent Churches was religious freedom in the form of a customary rite. The article uses written sources to reconstruct the history of the 1929 FGM contestation in Kenya and attempts to assess its implications for the church and society in general. It argues that in this contestation, FGM was used only to score political and religious points and was not addressed per se.Research Institute for Theology and Religio

The history of AIDS in South Africa : a Natal ecumenical experience in 1987-1990.

Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.The interface between apartheid and Aids in the unique South African context between 1987 and 1990 is particularly striking. Natal was such a volatile ground, one rocked by political violence and threatened by a world epidemic. A literary study of the four years' Natal Witness Aids articles and an oral witness by four clergy living in Natal at the times reveal an intriguing debate and deeds by the people in Natal. The difficulty in ascertaining the actual spread of the disease in South Africa was imperative in the search for a reliable information system. Neither the random testing prior to 1987 nor the secret testing between 1987 and 1989 produced reliable Aids statistics. The launching of surveillance testing in 1990 not only amounted to a reliable information system but also revealed staggering statistics reports. Not only was the infection doubling every six months, but it was becoming predominantly heterosexual and exacerbated in the black race. A close study of the Natal Witness articles reveals that the Natal Aids debate could be chronologically divided into four characteristic periods. The 1987 debate was an international debate because the focus was on what was happening in North America and in Europe. The 1988 debate was an African debate because the focus on Aids for the first time placed the African continent on spotlight indicating signs of its future lead in infection and mortality. The 1989 debate was a South African debate because the articles featured miner's plague and the gay plague and their possible negative influence on the economy. The 1990 debate zoomed into the Natal province as it revealed attitudes, myths, and controversies that underpinned the Aids disease. The Natal Witness reports are both contrasted and complemented by the reflections of four Christian ministers who served in Natal at the time. The clergy used particular philosophical frameworks to reconstruct their experiences. According to Sol Jacobs, a 'black consciousness' Methodist priest, the churches did not engage in prevention because of their racial divisions. Vic Bredencamp witnessed a judgemental church, one that could not deal with the Aids disease because of its punitive theology. Ronald Nicolson, an Anglican priest, only witnessed an ignorant church, one that could not become involved in Aids prevention because of its paralysis ignorance. Lastly, Paul Decock, a Catholic priest, witnessed an active church, one that was actively involved in Aids activism as early as 1987. The ministers differed immensely on how the church responded to the Aids disease as well as in the reasons for that particular response. Both the articles and the interviews were found to be misleading in several instances. Through editing and selection, the articles left out important details and articles. The interviewees could barely establish a chronology in their memory of events. With the help of internal and external evidence however, both the interviews and the articles complement each other in establishing the Aids experiences of the Christians in Natal

The Catholic response to HIV and AIDS in South Africa with a special reference to KwaZulu-Natal (1984-2005) : a historical-critical perspective.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.The present study is a critical history of the Catholic Church‟s response to HIV and Aids in South Africa, with a special emphasis on KwaZulu-Natal. It attempts to document and reflect on what the church said and did in responding to HIV and Aids between 1984 and 2005. It relies upon both oral and literary sources which were collected between 2006 and 2009. These comprise of oral testimonies of Catholic clerics, lay leaders, and administrators as well as archival sources in the form of correspondence letters, plenary session minutes, magazine articles, and project reports. The study establishes that between 1984 and 1990 the Catholic Church saw Aids as a disease far removed from its sphere yet deserving certain visionary measures. To a larger extent, Aids was ignored. A moral perspective on the Aids disease prevailed throughout the period. However, isolated visionary leaders conducted awareness workshops. Between 1991 and 1999, however, Aids was seen as immediate, a problem closely related to the mission of the Catholic Church. Here Aids was confronted. The predominant theological response was „missiological,‟ expressed through the new pastoral plan, Community Serving Humanity. As a result, the main Aids related activity by the church was the care of PLWHA. Through home-based care and institutionalised care, Catholic local initiatives in responding to the disease mushroomed in the country with the Archdiocese of Durban taking a leading role. Between 2000 and 2005 Aids was seen as imminent in the church, a concept popularised as the „Church has Aids‟. As a result, the period witnessed a concerted effort by the Catholic Church to integrate Aids response into its mainstream activities. In this period, Aids was seen as a human rights issue. Consequently, the Catholic Church endeavoured to address rights to treatment, Aids related stigma, family violence and gender imbalances. „Responsibility in a Time of Aids‟ became a predominant theological concept. The Catholic Church became a pacesetter in care and treatment after securing oversees funding. However, prevention became the church‟s Achilles heel following an unrelenting condom controversy. The availability of large amounts of money and many financial donors led to the NGO-isation of the Catholic Church‟s Aids projects with regard to their identity, activities, and organization. By and large, HIV and Aids had a large impact on the Catholic Church at all levels, both theologically and organizationally. Therefore, the study argues that for the Catholic Church responding to the Aids epidemic was a complex organizational dilemma. On the one hand, the church‟s teachings compelled it to care for the sick with a compassionate love and uphold a naturalist ethical position on sexuality. On the other hand, the Aids disease was associated with what was perceived to be sinful behaviours such as prostitution, homosexuality and heterosexual acts outside marriage. The infected, therefore, were not only „sick‟ but „sinners‟ at the same time. Moreover, the means of HIV prevention advocated by the government and the better part of the society, the use of condoms, was in sharp contrast with the church‟s official teachings. The hierarchy set itself to defend the teachings while majority of the lay leaders and the medical practitioners called for its revision. Generally speaking, the Catholic Church‟s response to the HIV and Aids epidemic in South Africa was entangled by organizational controversies. In spite of warnings by visionary leaders such as Father Ted Rogers and the exemplary leadership of Archbishop Denis Hurley during the mid 1980s, the Catholic organizational focus on HIV and Aids was delayed until 1990. A concern to respond to HIV and Aids in the church increased considerably in the 1990s as attention shifted from the cry for freedom and democracy to the escalating Aids crisis. However, it was during the 2000s that conditions favoured the much needed integrated Aids response. The Aids crisis had become too obvious to ignore given the acute mortality rate. In conclusion the Catholic Church‟s response to HIV and Aids came relatively early with creative and visionary ideas but it was hindered by organizational and theological barriers. The Catholic Church‟s official HIV prevention policy was contradictory and ambiguous. The Catholic Church innovatively used two models, institutionalised care and home-based care, in the treatment and care of PLWHA and Aids orphans, home based care and Aids hospices. The Catholic Church demonstrated an outstanding ability to raise and disburse large amounts of funds, successfully channelling these to service delivery in its response to HIV and Aids. The Catholic Church Aids projects became NGO-ised following the influx of large foreign funds in the years of the 2000s