Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: The Role of Church Leaders During Political Electioneering Periods in Kenya

Abstract

This chapter is guided by the democratic peace theory to trace the engagement of Church leaders in Kenya’s political electioneering periods since its independence (1963) to 2022 in relation to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16. Church leaders are expected to promote peace, justice, and strong institutions for sustainable development, especially in the context of competitive elections. The main question interrogated in this chapter is, how do Church leaders in Kenya support strong electoral institutions for justice and peace? In order to answer this question, the chapter analyses the activities of Church leaders during national political electioneering periods to establish if these activities promote justice, peace, and strong political electoral institutions. The authors conclude that the prophetic voice of the Church is diminishing and needs to be amplified in order to provide much-needed thought-leadership in the political discourse of the country towards alternative political principles in place of the self-serving ideologies presented by the political class.