By Eric Wamanji
As far as horror goes, Shakahola has slapped us a pretty one. A flummoxed society is still miffed. The depth, the breadth and even the very intricacies of what transpired are yet to be unearthed.
Shakahola is a complex entanglement of several strands complete with errors of omission and commission.
But we know something. “Anointed” charms like handkerchiefs, water, oil, and even “nyota” (star) have been the articles of faith that baited. Central to all these is greed, an enterprise in false hope, and naive belief in miraculous shortcuts towards prosperity.
Since evolution wired us for self-preservation, humans hardly join an apparent suicidal society. This explains the propaganda of wonder trinkets, that would first seduce the victims who would then be slowly and methodically get brainwashed.
But I digress. This is not about the art of radicalization, though unparking the same would still be valid.
The longing for quick prosperity has oiled the evangelical juggernaut for decades. Folks want miracles without the requisite painstaking and time-consuming process of wealth creation. The solution, they reckon, is an appeal to the cosmic.
This warped thinking would bemuse the German Sociologist, Max Weber. See, in his seminal treatise, The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, published in 1905, Weber forcefully argued that countries with strong protestant tradition were comparatively wealthier.
He observed that the protestant teachings, especially the Calvinist, contained strong imperatives like hard work, efficiency, frugality, specialization, pursuit of vocation, and investment. Such virtues procured wealth and therefore the flourish of capitalism.
Yet, the cabal of preachers today in the prosperity enterprise are not only bogus or crooked, they also conveniently twist scriptures for selfish gains – and that’s an open secret. These charlatans, without any formal theological formation, know that they can make a kill, literally and figuratively, in the name of God. The trick of easy prosperity is a simple yet an effective mechanism to scam. Indeed, away from the extremities of Kilifi, thousands of gullible folks are suffering every day in the hands of these criminals. Such is a tragedy that would astound Weber.
See, these victims, greed, and naivety aside, some of them felt let down by their state. In fact, to accept submission to teaching of starvation, is partly an admission that the earthly kingdom, what St. Augustine described as City of Man, is rigged – hopeless, unjust, insecure, dehumanizing- all thanks to a broken political realm. That’s why it was easier for the victims to accept accelerated date with their maker in the City of God to escape the hell in earth presided over by heartless politicians and bureaucrats.
That’s why, the state, too, failed the victims.
Indeed, the Hobbesian deal assume obedience in exchange for protection. The protection remit of course has expanded over time to include modern-day threats like cyber-attacks, pandemics, calamities and of course against radicalization by cults. For Shakahola, just what happened to the well-oiled state machinery?
And it was even scary to hear the Cabinet Secretary Prof. Kithure Kindiki affirming of the Shakahola as “… a highly organized crime.” The fear is, if the Kilifi duo could execute “a highly organized crime”, how about prolific criminals like drug barons, terrorists, or cattle rustlers?
Shakahola is not the first. Certainly, it won’t be the last. But we should learn our shameful lessons and dismantle this theater of the absurd now. Clamp down on these fake pastors, absurd broadcasts, and churches and restore sanity especially in Christianity. Ignore the naïve naysayers.
Twitter: @manjis