"Church-State Relations and Civil Unrest in Kenya"

In late 2007 Kenya was plunged into bloody civil strife after the incumbent government announced that President Mwai Kibaki had been returned to power amid allegations of intimidation, vote-buying and electoral fraud.In a country where sixty per cent of the population is poor and unemployed,Kenyans turned on one another in reprisals that left hundreds dead or injured and thousands displaced from their homes and families.The brutality and the mindlessness of rampaging mobs shocked Western commentators and unnerved local politicians as the country appeared destined for social chaos and possibly even genocide. In a country where popular culture is infused with Christianity and the Churches exert substantial influence, why was the presence of religious convictions unable to stem the tide of political violence? The answer might be, in part, the legacy of colonial rule in Kenya and the unhealthy relationship that existed at that time between church and state.