President William Ruto addresses the faithful during a church service to mark the 35th Embu ACK Diocesan Anniversary at St. Mark’s College, Kigari, Embu County, on July 6, 2025.
Ali Mazrui writes about a tendency in Africa to personalise and make sacred political authority and power. He gives examples of the religious symbols and Biblical allusions in the governance of those who came to power after independence. They assumed Christ-like qualities, and Biblical references were weaved into their mythologised biographies.
Kwame Nkrumah called himself the “redeemer”, Jomo Kenyatta was likened to Moses, while Haile Selassie styled himself the ‘Lion of Judah’. To oppose these men was a crime worse than treason – it was blasphemy.
