The Parable of the Good Samaritan Retold in Kenya: The Violence of Corruption and Tribalism
Abstract
The narrative of the Parable of the Good Samaritan is found in Luke 10: 25-37. It is Jesus’ response to a Jewish teacher of the Law who inquired from Jesus what he could do to receive eternal life. According to the Lawyer’s understanding, all that was required was to “love your neighbour as you love yourself”. But the Lawyer went on and asked Jesus yet another question about who his neighbour was. This prompted Jesus to use the Good Samaritan parable to make his point. In brief, the story is about this man who was travelling down Jerusalem-Jericho Road and was attacked by robbers, stripped naked, beaten, and left half dead on the roadside, wounded and bleeding. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus invites us to make, or turn, the other, into a neighbour, even when it involves taking risks, even if we do not know that person My neighbour is not only the one whom I know or is of my tribe or religion. Probably the priest and Levite did not stop because they might not have recognised one of theirs in the wounded person, might have feared to get attacked in the same place, or were prevented from stopping because of their commitments of rituals. True love, universal love, that does not discriminate would help us to fight violence and corruption. In this case, the Good Samaritan, not appreciated by the Jews, most likely came to the aid of a Jew since Jericho is geographically located in Judea, and not far from Jerusalem. This chapter has argued that the parable of the Good Samaritan retold in Kenya underlines the truth about the violence of corruption and tribalism which are some of the moral vices that are highly pronounced in contemporary Kenya to the extent that they have assumed dangerous and destructive proportions. Corruption and tribalism combine to produce a society characterized by gross inequalities in all aspects of life.
Downloads
References
Aqualline Tarimo, Applied Ethics and Africa’s Social Reconstruction. Nairobi, Kenya; Acton Publishers, 2005, pp. 46-47. See also Nthamburi, Zablon, The African Church at the Crossroads: Strategy for Indigenization. Nairobi: Uzima Press, 1991, pp. 37-38
Victor Zinkuratire and Angelo Colacrai, eds., The African Bible: Biblical Text oft he New American Bible, Nairobi: Paulines Publications, 1999.
Gitonga, Nyaga and Theuri, Matthew, 2011 Corruption; Is it an Elusive War in Kenya? Book 1, Nairobi; Rotech Enterprises, pp. 1-8 See also, Mwareke, Thadei, Poverty, Corruption and Disease in Africa South of the Sahara A challenge to Catholic Social Teaching. Nairobi; CUEA Publications, 1996, pp. 21-22.
For further reading on this, see Nyaundi, Nehemiah, rethinking God: Exploring the Interface Between Religion Social Reality. Limuru, Kenya: Zapf Chancery, 2015, pp. 54-84
Currently, following the controversial 2017 Presidential election, some dissatisfied regions threatened to Secede.
Gilligan, Carol, The Deepening Darkness: Patriarchy, Resistance, and Democracy’s Future. Cambridge: University Press, 2009.
The Facts about Corruption in Kenya. www.kenya-advisor.com. Retrieved 17th Sept. 2016
www.finzy.com/economy/obama-tells-kenya-to- end -corruption-gender- inequality. July 26th 2015. Retrieved 17th Sept. 2016
. Thompson, Dennis, Ethics in Congress: From Individual to Institutional Corruption. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press, 1995.
, Maxon, Robert, “Agriculture” in Ochieng. William ed., Themes in Kenyan History. Nairobi: E.A. Publishers LTD, 1990, pp. 29-34
Githongo, John. Daily Nation, August 2nd 2015
See Daily Nation, October 27, 2016.
On 18th October 2016 the President convened a session with senior government officials including EACC and judiciary officials and declared he was unable to deal with corruption. The event was covered live on local television screens. See The Standard October 31st 2016.
See Chapter Four on the Bill of Rights in The Constitution of Kenya (2010)
For further discussion of this, see Kimua, Tegakimwa, H. Let Socialism Come of Itself; A message to Black African Continent., Nairobi; Gideon Were Press, 1986
See africanarguments.org/2016/Kenya-has-become-a-bandit-economy-says-chief-justice-. I choose to describe it as “a robber economy “because majority of so called rich Individuals in Kenya have used opportunities in public service to loot from public coffers. So, they have illegally acquired wealth.
An Islamic and Al-Qaida based terror group based in neighbouring Somalia.
See The Nairobian, Friday December –Thursday 21st 2017, p. 16
Aqualline, Tarimo, Applied Ethics and Africa’s Social Reconstruction., Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2005, p.95
Mwereke, Thadei, ibid p. 23
This is a paramilitary government youth training facility meant to impart vocational skills to young Kenyans to prepare them for gainful employment.
See The Star September 30th 2016.
See The Standard October 7th, 2016
Sometime in 2015, the EACC declared the then CS for Devolution clean and even issued the officer with a certificate to that effect.
See Daily Nation August 26th 2016
Theo Tschuy, Ethnic Conflict and Religion: Challenge to the Churches, Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1997, p. 156 cited in Nyaundi, Nehemiah, Rethinking God: Exploring the Interface Between Religion and Social Reality. Limuru, Kenya: Zapf Chancery, 2015, p. 54
See Aqualline, Tarimo ibid, pp. 65-76 and Nehemiah, Nyaundi
See the 2010 Constitution of the Republic of Kenya article 27 subsection (4).
See Luis, Worth ‘The Problem of Minority Groups in the World’ in Ralph, L. ed., The Science of Man, Columbia University Press, 1945).
An ideology in this case is a collectively held principle or philosophy that binds members of a group and informs their attitudes and treatment of non-group members
Mugambi, Jesse Ndwiga, African Christian Theology; An Introduction., Nairobi; Heinemann Kenya LTD, 1989 pp. 12-15 and 129-131.
Gitari, David, Let the Bishop Speak. Uzima Press LTD, 1988, pp. 70-85 and Okullu, Henry, Church, and Politics in East Africa. Nairobi; Uzima Press LTD, 1974
Mwareke, Thadei, Poverty, Corruption and Disease in Africa South of the Sahara A challenge to Catholic Social Teaching. Nairobi; CUEA Publications, 1996.
During the 2017 presidential election controversy, Church leaders took sides with regional popular political inclinations. Those in western part of Kenya identified with the National Super Alliance (NASA) course while those in Central Kenya identified with Jubilee party course.
See The Daily Nation on 31st October 2017
See Daily Nation, October 27, 2016. p. 14
Nehemiah, Nyaundi, ibid, p. 75 argues that the road to de-tribalization of Kenyan society is not ‘paved ‘It is rather slippery all the way.
This concept has been used by Prof. Nehemiah, Nyaundi, ibid. p. 7
Copyright (c) 2022 Boaz K. Onyancha
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
