Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- If you ask the historians, they would tell you. The foreign missionaries came carrying two things. A Bible in one hand and the gun on the other.
- Some of them, particularly those who hailed from Britain, sided openly with the imperialist agenda of the colonial authorities.
- During the reign of President Daniel Arap Moi, Waira Wa Kamau was a leader of one of the factions. Moi’s bid did not bore the fruits.
- His successor, President Mwai Kibaki, also tried and failed but one thing was clear. Kibaki did not give much attention to these wrangles.
- For President Uhuru Kenyatta, he took a pro-active role during which he held several meetings with the top leadership of the Church.
I’m a member of African Independent Pentacostal Church of Africa (AIPCA).
As an insider I am therefore privy to the facts that our church is divided into three factions and the numerous interventions to reconcile the three Archbishops at the centre of a bid for a unified power, namely Julius Njoroge, Samson Muthuri and Fredrick Wang’ombe, have not borne any fruits.
The leadership wrangles in this church have a long history and had drawn the attention of the presidents of successive governments of independent Kenya.
As we now, AIPCA is credited for the gallant role the members played during the Mau Mau war of independence to liberate Kenya from the yoke and bondage of British colonial government.
Besides praying, offering spiritual guidance and encouraging the freedom fighters to soldier on, some of the church members had joined the struggle and literally fought from trenches in the forests. Some paid the ultimate price.
This explains why it was the wish of every Kenyan head of State to see this church united and being the house of worship for the majority of Kenyans.
We know most of the rest of the mainstream churches were brought and introduced by the missionaries.
If you ask the historians, they would tell you. The foreign missionaries came carrying two things. A Bible in one hand and the gun on the other.
Some of them, particularly those who hailed from Britain, sided openly with the imperialist agenda of the colonial authorities.
During the reign of President Daniel Arap Moi, Waira Wa Kamau was a leader of one of the factions. Moi’s bid did not bore the fruits.
His successor, President Mwai Kibaki, also tried and failed but one thing was clear. Kibaki did not give much attention to these wrangles.
For President Uhuru Kenyatta, he took a pro-active role during which he held several meetings with the top leadership of the Church.
Again, his efforts had not borne much fruits by the time he retired from the office of presidency.
Since then, he has remained as a focal point of reference in a search of a long lasting solution of restoring sanity and sobriety in leadership riddled AIPCA church.
Uhuru’s interventions were well understood. His father, the late founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, and his top confidant the late Mbiu Koinange, were members and key anchors of the church.
It is worth to note the ongoing crisis has led to formation of a splinter church-African Independent Pentacostal Church of Kenya (AIPCK).
Well, going by the remarks of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua when he graced the occasion of marking of Holy Oil Salvation in Kiambu, he has replaced the retired President Uhuru and taken the role of reconciling the three Archbishops and building a unified and fortified AIPCA church.
Three questions come to mind to my mind. Does he have the blessings of Uhuru? How does he expect to succeed where others-in these case former presidents- failed?
Does he have a different plan and strategy? Only time will tell.
But as a member, my prayer is to see him succeeding.
My unsolicited advise to DP is. Keep politics out of this.
In Kiambu, the media reported that he was hosted by Wang’ombe. If true, it means the two other Archbishops were conspicuously absent or their role was relegated to peripheral.
I hope the DP learnt a big lesson from this.
The DP termed the AIPCA church as key stakeholder in the Kenya Kwanza government.
You held our hands when we were in trouble during the 2022 electioneering period. You stood with us all the way to the ballot and our victory. I Thank you for this.
He promised to reciprocate this by ensuring some of AIPCA members get jobs in the civil service.
I hope he will keep his word. I am one of the hustlers tarmacking while looking for a job. My profession: A writer, political analyst and politician.
For Gachagua, the core mandate is to build a strong and united AIPCA Church of God. I wish him well.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst
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