Last week’s election in Kenya proved to be a statement on the power that Christian voters can have on the outcome of the direction of their nation.
Uhuru Kenyatta was elected the president of Kenya after garnering more than 8.1 million votes (approximately 54 percent). After Kenyatta, who campaigned on Christian beliefs, beat his opponent, former Kenya Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, violence and protests broke out in Kenya, with Odinga’s supporters claiming the results were “hacked,” according to several news reports.
The American Pastors Network has been watching the Kenya election closely because many voting issues greatly impact pastors, churches and Christians in the African nation.
APN President Sam Rohrer said the American Pastors Network provided encouragement to members of the Kenyan Pastors Network leading up to the election, praying for them and helping them mobilize Christian voters.
“Leading up to this election and still today,” Rohrer said, “the freedom of Kenyans, Kenyan pastors and the ability to freely preach the gospel is currently under threat. Had Uhuru Kenyatta not been elected, Islamic, pro-abortion, pro-LGBT and anti-Christian policies would have advanced. Our Kenyan brothers and sisters, and especially our fellow pastors, asked for fervent prayers before and during the election—that the right man would be elected, that the opposition would concede and that violence would not erupt as in other elections. We continue to pray for these matters, as the coming days and weeks will be crucial for Kenya to be able to move forward under a man of God and other leaders who desire to model the country after the founding documents of the United States of America.”
Rohrer added that a U.S.-based APN volunteer who was on the ground in Kenya helped to create and execute several initiatives to encourage values-based voting last week. Kenyatta, feeling the effects of these efforts, led a public prayer before the election, thanking Christians and pastors for their commitment and stating that he would give God the glory if victorious, according to reports from the APN volunteer.
“Pastors there are praying in faith that God will raise them up as a nation to be the leader to all of Africa, that the relationship with the U.S. can be strengthened and that God would enable APN to assist in the final establishment of a Kenyan Pastors Network in order to train leaders and teach pastors the biblical principles needed in both church and government,” Rohrer added. “The involvement of APN in Kenya is similar to work we’ve been blessed and honored to do in Ukraine, where pastors and government leaders are yearning to bring biblical and American constitutional principles to the country.”
Rohrer also noted that this election marked the first time in Kenyan history that Christians encouraged other Christians to vote. In fact, the Christian impact was so strong in the days before the election that a well-known liberal leftist poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaign of the opposition to counter the efforts of local pastors and Christians.
Gary Dull, executive director of the Pennsylvania Pastors Network, has traveled to Kenya and said the election there has serious ramifications, both in Africa and worldwide.
“There has been a movement among government officials in Kenya to vet pastors concerning their ability to lead churches and preach to their congregations,” Dull said. “In fact, a bill has been authored in this regard. Many pastors in Kenya believe this proposed law is an effort to reduce the preaching of the Gospel in that nation, which may result in a larger influence of Islam throughout the country. It is crucial that believers in America pray for our fellow believers in Kenya during this time when the freedom of religion is being threatened in that great African nation.”
Dull added that prayers are also crucial for the ongoing post-election unrest in Kenya and for the safety of Christian missionaries there.
Open Doors USA estimates that about 82 percent of Kenyans are Christian, but that Islamic oppression remains very high. Kenya is No. 18 on the World Watch List, a tool to track and measure persecution around the world.
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