The Exploitation of Religious Symbols in Political Rhetoric in Kenya: A Critical Perspective

Abstract

This paper critically examined the literature on the exploitation of religious symbols in political rhetoric in Kenya; it focused on the 2017 general and presidential elections in Kenya. The paper conducted an extensive critical study on the usage of three major religious symbols, that is, mganga, Jubilee and Canaan, used in the 2017 general and presidential elections in Kenya and the biblical, contemporary meaning of these religious symbols and their usage. Moreover, an intricate examination was carried out on the use of religious gab and garb in relation to the said election. The paper borrowed heavily from culture, context and biblical literature and the significance of these to the question of exploitation of religious symbols.

The paper unravelled the deliberate exploitation of religious symbols by the presidential flag bearers in both the NASA and the Jubilee coalitions in the 2017 general and presidential elections. A careful correlation was drawn between the usage of these religious symbols in political rhetoric and the relationship on the outcome of the general elections of the said period. Secondary data from written texts, such as articles, books and journals; audio-visual data, such as video clips; iconic texts, such as drawings, paintings and hypertexts, such as vlogs and blogs, were mined and synthesized.

Through appropriation of semiotic analysis, meaning was generated, related and evaluated under the torchlight of the biblical yardstick to obtain verifiable, valid conclusions. This paper is meant to serve as a wake-up call to Kenyan society on the exploitation of religious symbols and the implication of these symbols during and after the 2017 general and presidential elections.

Moreover, it is designed to arouse a polemic response from the clergy on the preservation of divine language and the place of divine talk. Finally, the paper seeks to sensitize the electorates to the careful evaluation of political rhetoric before making important decisions on matters of voting. The paper enumerates the dangers of the exploitation of religious symbols in Kenyan society and why this practice needs to be interrogated.

The paper endeavours to articulate recommendations based on a proper understanding of the appropriate usage and meaning of religious symbols.