In December 1991 the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) decided to embark on a massive civic or political education through its programme of Justice Peace and Reconciliation of which the author was the senior director. This decision had been reached a few days before the repealing of section 2A of the constitution of Kenya The project, Educa-
tion for Participatory Democracy, and supported initially by the Hanns
Seidel Foundation of Germany, was aimed at helping Kenyans to under- stand more about democracy and the need for political pluralism. Though it was a faith oriented project its benefits were for all Kenyan citizenry as the NCCK wished to transform them into responsible and informed citizens participating fully in the socio-economic and political activities of the country. The issues to be addressed included but not limited to:
a.
Democracy as a way of lifeb.
Understanding multiparty politicsc.
The role of opposition in multiparty parliamentd.
Participation in electionsThe project was implemented through workshops and seminars, publi- cations of books and pamphlets.60 The seminar and workshops were
always having sessions of what the Bible said about the issues at hand. When addressing issues of elections the favorite Bible study was from Exodus 18:21 on the qualities and qualifications of the leaders to be elected. Discussions were held on what the Bible meant by, able, God fearing, trustworthy and incorruptible. The participants then would take
the discussions in the grassroots advocating for what kind of people to be elected. The Bible presented the yardstick and these demands from the Bible were accepted by the electorate. The question of the time these words were written or to whom they were written did not arise. They applied and do still apply to us.
The need for good governance was based on Romans 13:1-7 where the responsibility of the state officials and the citizens were discussed. The need for Justice from the state was demanded and the need for citizens to pay taxes was spelt out. As far as obedience to the authorities was concerned the participants would point out that though this was impor- tant it was also limited for Ceaser could only receive what belonged to him but if he demands what belongs to God the citizens had to exercise creative disobedience. Passages as Exodus 1:15-22 where the Egyptian midwives refused to obey Pharaoh’s directive to kill Hebrew babies be- cause they feared God was cited as a reason to disobey bad laws. If at all one could obey then this is what Yoder calls subordination and is differ- ent from obedience and especially when a Christian refuses to worship Ceaser but still permits Ceaser to put him or her to death.61
Jesus’ Nazareth manifesto in Luke 4:16-20 was made the basis for the church to speak for the poor and the marginalized. The fact that Jesus understood the words spoken hundreds of years ago by Isa 61:1-2 to apply to him is enough to make the Christians today to apply it as their mandate to serve the marginalized and down trodden. The eight century prophets’ demands for justice were studied in these seminars. The ser- mon on the mountain especially in Jesus declaring his hearer to be the light and salt of the earth gave the citizens and the church the mandate to be involved in political matters. Their interpretation was that Jesus did not only speak to his disciples then but also speaks to us today. In mat- ters of protection and demand for the respect of human rights the bible was used in these seminars to address issues of rights as provided in all conventions and protocols be they civil and political rights and group rights. The right to demand human rights of the individual, for example, was taken from the creation story where human beings are said to be crated in God’s image, Genesis 1:26, 27. An example of boldness in demanding these rights is given of St. Paul in Acts 22:22-30 where he
61 John Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus, Behold the Man! Our Victorious Lamb; The
demanded whether Roman citizens were not innocent until proven guilty and therefore could not be whipped.
Conclusion
The Bible continues to be used as a tool to advance democracy in Africa. It has been accepted part and parcel of instruction for the African way of life though it is alien in origin, geography, language and history. Its literary forms however are very much like many African forms. Its cul- tural background is so much what the African everyday life entails. There is still much study which needs to be done for most translations need to be polished. Translations themselves are interpretations62 and
therefore Africans scholars need to constantly review the translations made and revise them accordingly. The Bible hermeneutics as well as the church’s prophetic ministry have been forth telling and foretelling. That is why in 1986, South African churches published the ‘Kairos document,’ which argued that critical moment had come for Christians to oppose the injustice of the apartheid state. In 1991 the NCCK pub- lished ‘A kairos for Kenya’ which addressed the unease over the Kenyan government increasing hostility to calls for a multiparty state. These two documents were based in the Bible.
Democracy and the multipartism which enhances it must be consoli- dated. With the advent of multiparty politics in many African countries it is becoming increasingly clear that the old order is being replaced by a new order. It is expected that the new order would invigorate the society in a way that would enhance human dignity, freedom of expression, conscience and association which are not easy in a one party system. As Nthamburi rightly observes ‘citizens are looking for a government that will be accountable and transparent, utilizing human and material re- sources for the good of all.’63The church will continue to use the Bible to
advocate and teach against those things that may reverse all the gains made. Such issues are ethnicity, corruption, environment degradation, and violation of human rights, unequal distribution of resources, gender imbalance, and marginalization of minorities, bad governance and elec- toral malpractices among myriads of others. As we conclude we must ponder these words by Ratzinger in his chapter on ‘A Christian orienta-
62 K. Grobel, Interpretation, History and Principles of, in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Abingdon Press, Nashville: 21st printing, 1996, p 719.
tion in a pluralistic democracy?’ the indispensability of Christianity in the modern age;
…pluralist democracy is never simply made secure. It does not of itself re- main the kind of thing that unifies its citizens in a fundamental assent to the state they have in common. Even when it is run fairly well, as despite everything has been the case with us over the past thirty years, it does not automatically bring forth the conviction that with all its shortcomings it is the best form of state. It is not only economic crises that can bring it to col- lapse; the pounding of intellectual waves can also wash away the ground on which it stands.64
For Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), democracy aims at perfection and such perfection does not exist and therefore a utopia! He points out that pluralist democracy remains a product of the fusion of the Greek and the Christian heritage and can therefore advise that
If we do not grasp this once again and learn in keeping with this to live de- mocracy on the basis of Christianity and Christianity on the basis of the free democratic state we shall certainly gamble democracy away.65
This provokes the African mind to what the opponents of pluralism used to point out that democracy and especially pluralism was an alien ideol- ogy to Africa. It was argued that pluralism would only divide the people and bring chaos. It was claimed that people would be divided along ethnic groups. To a certain degree this may be true and especially when it is evident that most of political parties have no ideology or pro- grammes different from the other one in their manifestoes. People fol- low their tribal leaders irrespective of absence of a national agenda. However we have witnessed countries like Somalia who have only one ethnic group and religion collapse. It is for that reason we would argue that the Bible still remains a tool to enhance democracy and pluralistic politics in Africa. At this juncture we also question the discriminative manner in which the Western countries demand democratic systems in the developing countries. Countries like the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries are encouraged to continue with their un- democratic ways and violations of human rights and remain the darlings of the Western governments. Some western governments also retain the monarchies and yet rebuke the African countries that have such sys- tems. The difference however is that these western countries have put in
64 Joseph Ratzinger, Church Ecumenism and Politics, St. Paul Publications; Middlegreen,
1988, p 205.
place working checks and balances. Mugambi has introduced the theol- ogy of reconstruction based especially in the book of Nehemiah as a paradigm that Biblical scholars must explore if Africa has to emerge and survive as a continent for the 21st century. While doing this African
Biblical scholars will not lose the principles that ‘First, African biblical hermeneutics is predominantly interested in the historical and socio- logical dimension of the biblical text. Second, African life interests are consciously and explicitly a part of the interpretative process. Third, African biblical hermeneutics is always aware of the ambiguous history of the Bible’s arrival in Africa, and so is constantly attempting to assert itself over against the dominant discourses of western, colonial and imperialistic forms of biblical scholarship.’66
Many African people will continue to look at the Bible as their guidance on political matters. Some will however see it as promoting the monar- chical rather than the democratic system of governance. Such a move- ment is present in Swaziland. The author does not hold that democracy is the only ideal of governance, however comparing the other forms like monarchy or authoritarianism democracy seems to be best and should be promoted.
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