Anglican Archbishop Eluid Wabukala of Kenya has chosen to differ with other Christian leaders in his country over a draft constitution that would permit Islamic “Kadhi” courts, and authorize abortion.

The archbishop has urged Kenyans to back the law, while suggesting that controversial clauses in it could be revised in future.

“The document is better than the current one. It is my feeling that Kenyans should accept it and amend some clauses later,” Wabukala told journalists on April 3 in Nairobi, two days after the country’s parliament had passed the law.

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A mobile phone suspended on a belt round the waist or from the neck is a common sight among members of church congregations in Africa.

Now, church leaders are heaping praise on mobile phones, sometimes called cell phones, because they say the instruments help congregations grow.

Mobile phone use increased rapidly in Africa about 10 years ago. At that time, however, some Christians on the continent criticised the phones for being “marks of materialism.” Now, that has changed.

“It is as if cell phones have come to revolutionise everything, even Christianity,” says Anglican Bishop Charles Gaita of Nyahururu in central Kenya. “They are making things happen quickly.”

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The publication of a draft constitution for Kenya, recognising the presence of Muslim civil courts known as the Kadhi courts, has once again widened the Christian-Muslim split in the East African nation.

Kenyan Church leaders have dismissed the creation of the Kadhi Courts, as currently proposed in the draft constitution, as a ploy to “elevate one religion over the other,” while the Islamic clerics ha ve warned that they would mobilise the Muslim community to reject a new draft that omits the Kadhi courts.

Kenyans have been discussing the prospect of a new constitution. The last attempt to have a constitution, in November 2005, ended with a majority vote rejecting the draft constitution, which proposed to create the office of the Chief Kadhi, to enjoy similar constitutional powers as the Chief Justice.

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The Anglican Church has faulted the government’s Mau Forest Eviction programme saying so far it has been inhumane.

ACK Archbishop Eliud Wabukala said the government had a duty to ensure that the evictees’ basic rights were not abused in the process of restoring the water tower.

“We recognize that the government has duty to protect the environment. To this end the intention to reverse the destruction of Mau complex is noble. However it is grossly inhuman that people removed from the water tower are left to live on road sides. Such people should be given alternative settlements as soon as possible to reduce their suffering,” he observed.

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The Anglican Church of Kenya has created its 31st diocese, raising its Chaplaincy to the Armed Forces to the status of a “Military Episcopate”.

At a service at St Paul’s Garrison Church at the Kahawa army barracks outside Nairobi, the Protestant Suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces, Colonel the Rt Rev Peter Wanyonyi Simiyu was enthroned as Bishop-in-Ordinary for the Armed Forces.

A former British Army Garrison chapel, St Paul’s will serve as the pro-Cathedral of the new diocese, the ACK reports.

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The offer has raised questions whether it will not weaken the status of the Anglican church and reopen the issue of celibate priesthood for the Catholics. Kenyan clergy and scholars argue that the Pope’s move may not augur well for conservative Catholics who view the Apostolic Constitution as a dilution of the traditional Catholic doctrines.

Conservative Anglicans may, however, find the offer appealing as a way of sidestepping the controversies occasioned by the consecration of gay bishops and ordination of female priests. “There is necessity to prepare the Catholic clergy to avoid mass exodus as happened in 1963,” said Father Stephen Mbugua, an Egerton University chaplain.

ACK Archbishop Eliud Wabukala has rejected the papal offer arguing it was ill-timed. But he faces opposition from within as some of his bishops say there is nothing wrong with it. “I do not see why it is necessary at this point in history,” Archbishop Wabukala told the Sunday Nation on the phone.

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However, Archbishop Wabukala told the BBC’s Network Africa programme there was “no possibility” of his becoming a Catholic.

“The Protestant family understands faith in different ways, for example, the idea of the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, the interpretation of ministry,” he said.

He said his fellow African Anglican bishops were “deeply evangelical”.

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Public hearings over Kenyan constitutional reforms lead to a shouting match and police intervention last week in Mombasa. The role of Sharia law within Kenya’s civil code prompted sharp disagreements between the Anglican Bishop of Mombasa, the Rt. Rev. Julius Kalu and Sheikh Khalifa Mohammad, chairman of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK).

The push for constitutional reform in Kenya began in the early 90’s, but took on added intensity following the 2007 elections, that sparked communal violence in what had been one of Africa’s “model democracies”.

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Newly-installed Kenyan Archbishop Eliud Wabukala has called for unity among the 77 million-member global Anglican Communion, which is threatened by a split centred, as far as many African bishops are concerned, on the issue of homosexuality.

“We are in a state of brokenness because the truth of the Scripture has not been upheld in some provinces,” said Archbishop Wabukala in July 5 homily after his enthronement as the fifth archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya. “We call on all Anglicans to come together again around the Gospel.”

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He is Dr Eliud Wabukala, who is 58, has been Bishop of Bungoma since in 1996, and chairs the National Council of Churches of Kenya. Bungoma has a diocesan link with Peterborough. The Bishop of Peterborough, the Rt Revd Ian Cundy, described Dr Wabukala on Tuesday as “a reconciler both polit­ically in the country and within the House of Bishops”. He succeeds Arch­bishop Benjamin Nzimbi.

Thousands of Christians are re­ported to have thronged the streets of Bungoma to welcome the Archbishop-elect on his return home from the election. The election process at All Saints’ Cathedral in Nairobi last Friday was described by the local press as “peaceful, joyous and orderly”.

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Eliud Wabukala of Bungoma, who becomes the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya in July, will not likely reverse his predecessor’s opposition to same-sex unions.

This is the view of bishops and church leaders who spoke to Ecumenical News International after Wabukala was on April 24 elected to replace Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, who retires on June 30.

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Speaking to the press after his election, an elated Wabukhala expressed gratitude to the church for the peaceful transition.

“I would like to thank the Anglican (church) and particularly the electoral college, for the peaceful election they have carried out, and for maintaining the integrity of the church,” he told reporters .

He says he is ready to take the baton from where his predecessor, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi left, noting that the challenges are indeed opportunities .

“We know there are challenges to do with building bridges among our community, reconciling people and healing. We shall continue with where he has left. Our aim is to ensure the gospel is preached and taught, and possibly med to make people live it in this country” He added.

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The next head of the Anglican Church in Kenya will be known on Friday when the 150-member electoral college elects the archbishop of Nairobi.

The college members ”” a diocesan bishop, two priests and two lay persons from each of the 30 dioceses ”” will gather at the All Saints’ Cathedral in Nairobi at 9am to elect, by secret ballot, the man to replace Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi.

The candidate will be installed and enthroned, the Anglicans say, as the head of the 4.5 million member church in a grand ceremony on July 5.

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The Most Reverend Benjamin Nzimbi, the Primate and Archbishop has created a profile that will linger on long after he has left the ACK hierarchy.

To many people, the Bishop of All Saints Cathedral is a man of many faces. His voice was full of pain and compassion when he joined other clergymen in calling for peace following chaos that rocked the country after the disputed national elections early this year.

Yet, he was forthright and uncompromising when he stated the church’s stand against the ordination of gay bishops in the church. He has never shied away from calling on the Government officials to be more accountable in discharging their services to the citizenry.

Yet away from the glare of the cameras and the pulpit, Nzimbi, is a simple man, who loves eating fish and ugali with his hands, forget modern cutlery.

This, he says is how people ought to see him.

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From the Diocese of Pittsburgh website, here are statements from +Venables, +Gomez, Nzimbi, +Kolini. Also posted there are statements from +Mouneer Anis, +Peter Jesen of Sydney, and +Cavalcanti, Diocese of Recife.

A Joint Statement from Archbishops Venables of the Southern Cone, Gomez of the West Indies and Nzimbi of Kenya.

In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen. We the undersigned are grieved at the violation of catholic order in the declaration of deposition of The Right Rev. Robert Duncan by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church and consider it to be invalid. Legitimate actions of catholic order must rise from Biblical catholic faith. Actions such as this continue to alienate countless Christian people not only within, but beyond the limits of the Communion. We continue to recognize the fidelity and validity of Bishop Duncan’s orders, role, and ministry. Without reservation, we continue in full sacramental communion with him as an Anglican bishop. We thank God that by the vote of the Provincial Synod he has been given membership in the House of Bishops of the Southern Cone. Our fellowship and shared ministry with him is not disrupted.

Yours in Christ,
The Most Rev Gregory Venables
The Most Rev Drexel Gomez
The Most Rev Benjamin Nzimbi

From Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda:
September 17, 2008

News is circulating around the United State and the Anglican Communion that the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops is likely to depose the Rt. Rev. Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh, this week at a special meeting. I have known and worked with Bishop Duncan for a number of years, and I know him to be a godly man.

As he faces this time of trial, I encourage him to remember that he is not being deposed by God, but only by man. He will remain very much a part of the new work that God is creating within Anglicanism. In addition, he and his family will remain in my thoughts and prayers, and I am confident that the Lord will bless Bishop Duncan in this new season of ministry.

I am reminded of Joseph’s words to his brothers that are recorded in Genesis. <> (Genesis 50 : 20a, New King James Version). May this also be true for Bishop Duncan as he continues his faithful service to God and the Church.

Most Reverend Emmanuel Kolini
Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda

Asked about Orombi’s statements, Nzimbi told Ecumenical News International, “I don’t want to comment on that but what I know is the Anglican Communion surrounds the see of Canterbury, and the Canterbury see is respected by all of us, and we would like the Anglican Communion to continue.”

He said, “The archbishop of Canterbury should continue calling [the] Lambeth [Conference] but let us go back to what it used to be.” This was understood to mean that there should be a common understanding that homosexuality is sinful and homosexuals should not be in positions of leadership in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Nzimbi said Anglican leaders who took part in a gathering in June in Jerusalem of the Global Anglican Future Conference, or GAFCON as it is known, will meet shortly to map a way forward after the Lambeth Conference. GAFCON is widely seen as having been an “alternative” Lambeth Conference that brought together opponents of openly gay bishops and same-sex blessings.

The Kenyan archbishop took issue with remarks by Robinson, according to whom leaders such as Nzimbi are calling for the exclusion from the Anglican Communion of those churches that support the greater inclusion of gay and lesbian people.

Nzimbi said the current problem within the Anglican Communion was not based on who should stay or go, but on compliance to the word of God.

“When you obey the Scriptures you repent of your sins. What is … bringing problems is the interpretation of the Scriptures,” he said. “If we all obey the Scriptures, and what they tell us, I know that inner oneness will make us have the outer form of the Anglican Communion that which we want.”

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According to Archbishop [Peter] Akinola, the last major meeting that considered the gay issue was the Primates’ Meeting in Tanzania in February 2007. During the meeting, the Episcopal Church was given “a last chance to clarify unequivocally and adequately their stand by 30th September, 2007”.

“Strangely, before the deadline, and before the primates could get the opportunity of meeting to assess the adequacy of the response of TEC and in a clear demonstration of unwillingness to follow through our collective decisions, which for many of us was an apparent lack of regard for the Primates, Lambeth Palace in July 2007 issued invitations to TEC bishops, including those who consecrated Gene Robinson, to attend the Lambeth 2008 conference.

“At this point, it dawned upon us, regrettably, that the Archbishop of Canterbury was not interested in what matters to us, in what we think or in what we say,” the Gafcon gathering heard.

The upshot is that if African bishops are angry, it is because of Canterbury’s and the West’s insensitivity and apparent contempt of their collective decisions.

Kenyan Anglican bishops will, together with a section of their fellow Africans, skip next month’s Lambeth Conference in Britain in the latest twist in the controversy over same-sex marriages that has threatened to tear the 77 million-member church apart.

The bishops, their spouses and other senior clergy will instead attend the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem that runs from June 22 to 29, said Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi.

The decision to boycott the Lambeth conference was due, he said, to the church’s failure to resolve the issue of the ordination of homosexual bishops within the Episcopal Church in the United States.

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Let me get to the point. The Anglican church in Kenya has decided to boycott the so-called Lambeth Conference to be held in July, a periodical spiritual fest of global Anglican bishops hosted in England by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The decision has already been communicated by none other than Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi. Most other African bishoprics had already decided the same, including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Nigeria. Nigeria’s boycott, led by Archbishop Peter Akinola, has been particularly painful for Lambeth. Nigeria happens to host the biggest concentration of Anglicans of any country in the world.

The problem is homosexuality, which the African bishops reject. It all started with the Anglican wing in the United States, who call themselves Episcopalians. Some dioceses there have accepted to bless homosexual and lesbian marriages and even to ordain openly homosexual clergy.

It is not only Africans who are outraged. Many dioceses in Asia and Latin America are equally angry. Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is a rather weak man who has proved incapable of healing the rift.

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Members of the Anglican Church in Kenya would like to know why our bishops are not attending the Lambeth 2008 Conference.

Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi is reported as reasoning thus: “Lambeth 2008 should have been about a return to God in view of these realities, yet it’s obvious that won’t be the case. Canterbury has sanctioned homosexuality. We cannot be going there to keep up with its theological gymnastics.”

Is this not missing the point of Lambeth? Isn’t this cowardly?

This conference is central in our church tradition as one of the four instruments of the Anglican Communion.

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THE Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) has demanded tough action against the outlawed Mungiki sect that has recently terrorized the country.

The Church accused politicians supporting the group of promoting anarchy. Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi said the Government should crack down on sect members, as they were engaged in crime.

“The Government has the machinery to crack down on this illegal group yet nothing is happening,” the prelate said.

Archbishop Nzimbi was speaking in Kericho on Thursday May 1, 2008 during the consecration and enthronement of the Rt Rev Jackson Nasoore ole Sapit as bishop of the Kericho Anglican Diocese.

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Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi and Catholic Cardinal John Njue of Kenya have welcomed a joint visit by President Mwai Kibaki and his former political opponent, Raila Odinga, now prime minister, to camps for those displaced by recent post-election conflict. But they are also calling for compensation and a speedy resettlement of those who were forced from their abodes.

“This was a very important visit. We praise the leaders for that,” Nzimbi told Ecumenical News International in Nairobi. “It shows the leaders are concerned about the plight of these people.”

Nearly 300,000 people were forced to take refuge in camps following ethnic violence that erupted after the country’s electoral commission announced Kibaki as the winner of general elections held in December. Odinga said the election had been rigged. The conflict ended with the signing of a national peace accord in February. This in turn resulted in the formation of a coalition government between Kibaki’s Party of National Unity and Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement.

“It is painful to see innocent people turned into refugees in their own country,” said Njue in Embu in eastern Kenya on April 27, while urging the government to create a suitable environment for a speedy resettlement.

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Kenyans have been asked to forgive one another and reconcile as the country heals from the effects of post-election violence.

Religious leaders also thanked God for saving Kenya from the brink of collapse.

Praying in Parliament, retired Anglican Bishop Peter Njenga said: “You saved us from hatred, danger and ethnic violence that had threatened to tear our country apart. We, therefore, ask you to help us remain united and set aside our differences for the benefit of the country.”

Kakamega Catholic diocese Bishop Philip Sulumeti recognised the heavy burden the more than 200 MPs had on their shoulders in ensuring that the country remained united.

Bishop Sulumeti said Kenyans had experienced difficult moments due to the election violence and regretted the loss of lives and destruction of property.

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Accounts of violence in Kenya are more than just news stories to Joseph Ngotho; they are the latest news about the fate of his homeland and his dispossessed family.

“They had homes and businesses. Now they are living in churches or communal compounds,” Ngotho said.

Democratic stability in this African nation disintegrated last year when a power sharing agreement between political rivals fell apart.

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The Anglican Church has failed the people of Kenya by not speaking with a “prophetic voice” in the wake of the disputed Dec 27 elections, the former Archbishop of Kenya has declared.

“We did not need Tutu to come all the way from South Africa to solve this crisis. We did not need Kofi Annan…

The Church should have been able to solve this problem.

But they are seen as partisan,” Archbishop David Gitari told the East African Standard.

Kenya’s post-election violence has led to the deaths of over 1,000 people and forced over 350,000 from their homes.

Last week the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) apologised to the nation for the partisan political divisions within the churches, which had muted its prophetic voice. “Religious leaders failed to stay on the middle path, they took sides and were unable to bring the unity needed when the crisis arose,” NCCK secretary-general Canon Peter Karanja said on Feb 13.

In an interview with the Standard, Dr Gitari recounted the church-led campaign to end one-party political rule in the 1990s. “The Church is a reconciler and a reconciler does not take sides unless he is completely sure the side he is taking is the right one,” he said.

However, we are called “the light of the world and salt of the earth. Whoever does wrong has to be challenged, whether that person is your brother or tribesman,” the retired archbishop said.

Kenya’s Anglican bishops either were “not courageous enough or have taken sides,” he charged. The church’s bishops were split down the middle along tribal lines in the current dispute and “it is wrong.”

They were “failing to be prophetic,” and had lost the public’s trust, Dr Gitari said.

Following a meeting in Limeru last week, the NCCK’s executive council released a statement acknowledging that “Church leaders have displayed partisan values in situations that called for national interest. The church has remained disunited and its voice swallowed in the cacophony of vested interests.”

Kenya’s Christian leaders called for a fresh start. “All have failed, including the church leaders.”

In a statement published on the NCCK’s website, church leaders called for the arrest of those involved in inciting violence as well as the disciplining of police officers who had used excessive force in responding to
the unrest.

They also called for the strengthening of the judiciary, Parliament and the Electoral Commission, and a ban on political parties that pandered to tribal interests and sectarian passions.

–This article appears in this week’s edition of the Church of England Newspaper

The Anglican Church of Kenya has expressed fears of violence during the countrywide mass action called for next week by ODM leaders.

Consequently, the Church appealed to would-be demonstrators to avoid violence and police to shun use of live bullets to avoid loss of lives.

“We are not against the idea of mass action but our fear is that some people may use the event to engage in violence and to loot property,” the ACK Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, told a press conference at the church headquarters in Nairobi.

“The law enforcers should provide security without excessive force. They should not use live bullets on the people and must avoid being partisan,” said Archbishop Nzimbi who read the statement the bishops had prepared after their two-day meeting.

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January 3, 2008

Dear Kenyan Friends and Friends of Kenya,

You may have heard that there is a terrible outbreak of violence in Kenya in the wake of the most closely contested election in Kenya’s history. So far probably 300 have been killed. In Eldoret, about fifty were burned to death when an Assembly of God church containing people seeking refuge was set on fire.

I was able to speak with the Archbishop. He and Mama Alice were in good spirits despite the fact that they were unable to leave the house because the streets are so dangerous. He has also been battling malaria, but is feeling better today.

Bishop Murdoch and I are asking that you please re-double your prayers for the Archbishop and for Kenya that peace would prevail. ABp Nzimbi confirmed that the overwhelming majority of Kenyans want peace.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Bill Atwood

Suffragan Bishop for International Affairs

All Saints Cathedral Diocese, Nairobi

Anglican Church of Kenya

Four Anglican bishops and two outgoing MPs have asked the Government to move quickly and deal with politically instigated tribal clashes in Kuresoi, Molo District.

The bishops also want the Government to take measures to avert similar conflicts in other parts of the country.

The clerics said that peace and stability were a pre-requisite for free and fair elections and that the church was taking steps to deal with the violence, which had claimed about 12 lives and left houses torched.

A team of peace-builders from the church were in clash-torn areas, they added.

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The Kenyan archbishop said the US church leaders’ comments did not go far enough.

“What we expected to come from them is to repent – that this is a sin in the eyes of the Lord and repentance is what me, in particular, and others expected to hear coming from this church,” he said.

Correspondents say it was hoped the agreement would help defuse the crisis.

But Assistant Bishop of Kampala, Ugandan David Zac Niringiye, says it was “not a change of heart” and showed the church was already split.

“What this situation has brought to the fore is the malaise – something much deeper – that the entire communion has not dealt with and the consecration of Bishop Gene really brought to the surface something that was there,” he told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme

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