Festo Mkenda | Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu (original) (raw)
Papers by Festo Mkenda
The democratic experiment that was Kenya's 2007 elections ushered in disaster. Yet, Kenya... more The democratic experiment that was Kenya's 2007 elections ushered in disaster. Yet, Kenya provided salient lessons on democracy that other African countries must take seriously. In this article, originally published shortly after the events, the author argues that the 2007/8 post election violence in Kenya manifested a failure of institutions, not necessarily 'tribalism' as many rushed to conclude. A strong democracy, anchored on radical belief in human equality and protected by strong institutions that are enshrined in good constitutions, could have prevented the Kenyan disaster. Since these were lacking at the time, people were left with no recourse to a regulated process for resolution when they judged the electoral process unfair. After the Kenyan experience, there is hardly any reason why another country in Africa should find itself in similar circumstances.
Journal of Jesuit Studies
Hekima Review, 2015
In an article sub-titled “Christian Pedagogy of Evangelization and African Ethos” published in is... more In an article sub-titled “Christian Pedagogy of Evangelization and African Ethos” published in issue 2014/1 of the Tangaza Journal of Theology and Mission, Father Gorge Kocholickal, sdb, offered what he intended to be an extensive critique of Professor Laurenti Magesa’s theology. The initiative to undertake such a review is praiseworthy, since such is rarely seen among Africanists. In the same spirit, this article is presented as a critique of Kocholickal’s review. It shows that Kocholickal’s conclusions, which are mostly negative, are based on a misreading of Magesa’s theology and, more generally, on a facile analysis of missionary realities in Africa. A focus on mission misses Magesa’s point on dialogue, a paradigmatic view of Christian spirituality impairs the ability to appreciate the specificity of its African counterpart, and a determination to clear missionaries of wrong doing sticks up nakedly at odds with documented history. For the author of this article, the praiseworthy ...
With Eyes and Ears Open: The Role of Visitors in the Society of Jesus, 2019
Encounters between Jesuits and Protestants in Africa, 2017
Encounters between Jesuits and Protestants in Africa
Encounters between Jesuits and Protestants in Africa
Jesuit Historiography Online
Oxford Handbooks Online
Divided into nine administrative regions, Jesuits in Africa are involved in a number of education... more Divided into nine administrative regions, Jesuits in Africa are involved in a number of educational and pastoral ministries in thirty-six countries. This geographical spread occurred as a response to greater openness to missions after World War II and growing appreciation of African cultures after Vatican II. Between 1861 and 1945, Jesuits had concentrated on Madagascar, southern Africa, and Congo. In these regions they acted as evangelizers within the context of the nineteenth-century influx of Christian missions into Africa and organized themselves along the lines of colonial spheres of influence. Jesuit missions in these three regions were new, not resuscitations of previous Jesuit existence in Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia before the Society’s suppression in 1773. The presuppression missions had lasted for almost two centuries, thus linking the Jesuits to the poorly researched second wave of evangelization in Africa and connecting the continent to the very beginnings of the S...
Oxford Handbooks Online, 2016
Oxford Handbooks Online
Divided into nine administrative regions, Jesuits in Africa are involved in a number of education... more Divided into nine administrative regions, Jesuits in Africa are involved in a number of educational and pastoral ministries in thirty-six countries. This geographical spread occurred as a response to greater openness to missions after World War II and growing appreciation of African cultures after Vatican II. Between 1861 and 1945, Jesuits had concentrated on Madagascar, southern Africa, and Congo. In these regions they acted as evangelizers within the context of the nineteenth-century influx of Christian missions into Africa and organized themselves along the lines of colonial spheres of influence. Jesuit missions in these three regions were new, not resuscitations of previous Jesuit existence in Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia before the Society’s suppression in 1773. The presuppression missions had lasted for almost two centuries, thus linking the Jesuits to the poorly researched second wave of evangelization in Africa and connecting the continent to the very beginnings of the S...
Oxford Handbooks Online, 2016
Oxford Handbooks Online, 2016
Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu (AHSI), 2019
The election of Pedro Arrupe as Superior General of the Society of Jesus in 1965 coincided with t... more The election of Pedro Arrupe as Superior General of the Society of Jesus in 1965 coincided with transitions of monumental proportions in Africa. Most African countries basked in the early sun of political independence, and Vatican II had just allowed greater inculturation in the practice of the faith. Now, with audacious calls for “Africanization”, Africans sought to expand their space in political and ecclesiastical institutions. These changing realities had a considerable impact on the missions of the Society in Africa. Hitherto the missions were scattered and directed by various provinces in Europe and America. As the Church was becoming more African, there was obvious need to make the Society more African too. To this need Arrupe responded decisively. Engaging directly with Africa, he practised a three-pronged policy of empowering, supporting and inspiring Jesuits on the continent so that they could live up to the challenge of their vocation in Africa. To this end he established administrative structures designed to allow grassroots experience to inform key decisions, which now could be made on the ground. He was particularly supportive of the new superiors he appointed. Arrupe also used the African experience to enrich his own theological reflection, which eventually contributed to shaping his ideas on inculturation and on mission.
Chiedza: Arrupe College Journal, 2008
The democratic experiment that was Kenya's 2007 elections ushered in disaster. Yet, Kenya provide... more The democratic experiment that was Kenya's 2007 elections ushered in disaster. Yet, Kenya provided salient lessons on democracy that other African countries must take seriously. In this article, originally published shortly after the events, the author argues that the 2007/8 post election violence in Kenya manifested a failure of institutions, not necessarily 'tribalism' as many rushed to conclude. A strong democracy, anchored on radical belief in human equality and protected by strong institutions that are enshrined in good constitutions, could have prevented the Kenyan disaster. Since these were lacking at the time, people were left with no recourse to a regulated process for resolution when they judged the electoral process unfair. After the Kenyan experience, there is hardly any reason why another country in Africa should find itself in similar circumstances.
This article reflects on Julius K. Nyerere's four necessary ingredients for development: people, ... more This article reflects on Julius K. Nyerere's four necessary ingredients for development: people, land, good policies and good leadership. The concepts of land and policies are understood broadly: ,":hereas land includes all natural resources, policies embrace constitutions, party manifestos, acts ofparliament, government white papers and blue prints, and other similar legal and guiding documents. Defining development as the net value that humans add to life, the article argues that in the past half-century, Africa has hadplenty ofpeople and land, but little ofgood policies and good leadership. The needfor Africa to stand on its ownfeet andproduce real development is emphasized and proposed as something within reach by 2050, if Africa provides for itselfgood policies and good leaders. The article concludes with an appreciation of the confidence with which generations of Africans in the 1950s, 19605 and 1970s leapt into the uncertainties of political independence, something that is compared to a boy who, at initiation in traditional Africa, assumed manhood and embraced its rights and duties. Current generations ofAfricans need a similar confidence, the conclusion says, in order to assume responsibility for the continent's development. All that is needed are policies and leaders that can help turn Africa's abundant human and natural wealth into real value that is added to life.
The democratic experiment that was Kenya's 2007 elections ushered in disaster. Yet, Kenya... more The democratic experiment that was Kenya's 2007 elections ushered in disaster. Yet, Kenya provided salient lessons on democracy that other African countries must take seriously. In this article, originally published shortly after the events, the author argues that the 2007/8 post election violence in Kenya manifested a failure of institutions, not necessarily 'tribalism' as many rushed to conclude. A strong democracy, anchored on radical belief in human equality and protected by strong institutions that are enshrined in good constitutions, could have prevented the Kenyan disaster. Since these were lacking at the time, people were left with no recourse to a regulated process for resolution when they judged the electoral process unfair. After the Kenyan experience, there is hardly any reason why another country in Africa should find itself in similar circumstances.
Journal of Jesuit Studies
Hekima Review, 2015
In an article sub-titled “Christian Pedagogy of Evangelization and African Ethos” published in is... more In an article sub-titled “Christian Pedagogy of Evangelization and African Ethos” published in issue 2014/1 of the Tangaza Journal of Theology and Mission, Father Gorge Kocholickal, sdb, offered what he intended to be an extensive critique of Professor Laurenti Magesa’s theology. The initiative to undertake such a review is praiseworthy, since such is rarely seen among Africanists. In the same spirit, this article is presented as a critique of Kocholickal’s review. It shows that Kocholickal’s conclusions, which are mostly negative, are based on a misreading of Magesa’s theology and, more generally, on a facile analysis of missionary realities in Africa. A focus on mission misses Magesa’s point on dialogue, a paradigmatic view of Christian spirituality impairs the ability to appreciate the specificity of its African counterpart, and a determination to clear missionaries of wrong doing sticks up nakedly at odds with documented history. For the author of this article, the praiseworthy ...
With Eyes and Ears Open: The Role of Visitors in the Society of Jesus, 2019
Encounters between Jesuits and Protestants in Africa, 2017
Encounters between Jesuits and Protestants in Africa
Encounters between Jesuits and Protestants in Africa
Jesuit Historiography Online
Oxford Handbooks Online
Divided into nine administrative regions, Jesuits in Africa are involved in a number of education... more Divided into nine administrative regions, Jesuits in Africa are involved in a number of educational and pastoral ministries in thirty-six countries. This geographical spread occurred as a response to greater openness to missions after World War II and growing appreciation of African cultures after Vatican II. Between 1861 and 1945, Jesuits had concentrated on Madagascar, southern Africa, and Congo. In these regions they acted as evangelizers within the context of the nineteenth-century influx of Christian missions into Africa and organized themselves along the lines of colonial spheres of influence. Jesuit missions in these three regions were new, not resuscitations of previous Jesuit existence in Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia before the Society’s suppression in 1773. The presuppression missions had lasted for almost two centuries, thus linking the Jesuits to the poorly researched second wave of evangelization in Africa and connecting the continent to the very beginnings of the S...
Oxford Handbooks Online, 2016
Oxford Handbooks Online
Divided into nine administrative regions, Jesuits in Africa are involved in a number of education... more Divided into nine administrative regions, Jesuits in Africa are involved in a number of educational and pastoral ministries in thirty-six countries. This geographical spread occurred as a response to greater openness to missions after World War II and growing appreciation of African cultures after Vatican II. Between 1861 and 1945, Jesuits had concentrated on Madagascar, southern Africa, and Congo. In these regions they acted as evangelizers within the context of the nineteenth-century influx of Christian missions into Africa and organized themselves along the lines of colonial spheres of influence. Jesuit missions in these three regions were new, not resuscitations of previous Jesuit existence in Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia before the Society’s suppression in 1773. The presuppression missions had lasted for almost two centuries, thus linking the Jesuits to the poorly researched second wave of evangelization in Africa and connecting the continent to the very beginnings of the S...
Oxford Handbooks Online, 2016
Oxford Handbooks Online, 2016
Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu (AHSI), 2019
The election of Pedro Arrupe as Superior General of the Society of Jesus in 1965 coincided with t... more The election of Pedro Arrupe as Superior General of the Society of Jesus in 1965 coincided with transitions of monumental proportions in Africa. Most African countries basked in the early sun of political independence, and Vatican II had just allowed greater inculturation in the practice of the faith. Now, with audacious calls for “Africanization”, Africans sought to expand their space in political and ecclesiastical institutions. These changing realities had a considerable impact on the missions of the Society in Africa. Hitherto the missions were scattered and directed by various provinces in Europe and America. As the Church was becoming more African, there was obvious need to make the Society more African too. To this need Arrupe responded decisively. Engaging directly with Africa, he practised a three-pronged policy of empowering, supporting and inspiring Jesuits on the continent so that they could live up to the challenge of their vocation in Africa. To this end he established administrative structures designed to allow grassroots experience to inform key decisions, which now could be made on the ground. He was particularly supportive of the new superiors he appointed. Arrupe also used the African experience to enrich his own theological reflection, which eventually contributed to shaping his ideas on inculturation and on mission.
Chiedza: Arrupe College Journal, 2008
The democratic experiment that was Kenya's 2007 elections ushered in disaster. Yet, Kenya provide... more The democratic experiment that was Kenya's 2007 elections ushered in disaster. Yet, Kenya provided salient lessons on democracy that other African countries must take seriously. In this article, originally published shortly after the events, the author argues that the 2007/8 post election violence in Kenya manifested a failure of institutions, not necessarily 'tribalism' as many rushed to conclude. A strong democracy, anchored on radical belief in human equality and protected by strong institutions that are enshrined in good constitutions, could have prevented the Kenyan disaster. Since these were lacking at the time, people were left with no recourse to a regulated process for resolution when they judged the electoral process unfair. After the Kenyan experience, there is hardly any reason why another country in Africa should find itself in similar circumstances.
This article reflects on Julius K. Nyerere's four necessary ingredients for development: people, ... more This article reflects on Julius K. Nyerere's four necessary ingredients for development: people, land, good policies and good leadership. The concepts of land and policies are understood broadly: ,":hereas land includes all natural resources, policies embrace constitutions, party manifestos, acts ofparliament, government white papers and blue prints, and other similar legal and guiding documents. Defining development as the net value that humans add to life, the article argues that in the past half-century, Africa has hadplenty ofpeople and land, but little ofgood policies and good leadership. The needfor Africa to stand on its ownfeet andproduce real development is emphasized and proposed as something within reach by 2050, if Africa provides for itselfgood policies and good leaders. The article concludes with an appreciation of the confidence with which generations of Africans in the 1950s, 19605 and 1970s leapt into the uncertainties of political independence, something that is compared to a boy who, at initiation in traditional Africa, assumed manhood and embraced its rights and duties. Current generations ofAfricans need a similar confidence, the conclusion says, in order to assume responsibility for the continent's development. All that is needed are policies and leaders that can help turn Africa's abundant human and natural wealth into real value that is added to life.
DPhil Thesis, University of Oxford, 2009
This paper is a chapter in a much larger thesis bearing the title "Building National Unity in sub... more This paper is a chapter in a much larger thesis bearing the title "Building National Unity in sub-Saharan Africa: The Impact of State Policies on the Chagga Community in Northern Tanzania." Unlike the local political authority which lost popular support, the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU) grew even stronger after World War II. Government interference was at the minimum, the Union’s administration was in Chagga hands, its affiliate societies were fully democratised and
world coffee prices at their best. With this prosperous cooperative under their control, the Chagga crossed confidently into independence. However, political interference was soon resumed at the same time as coffee prices plummeted. The KNCU limped through the 1960s towards its abolition in 1976. Though much regretted, the political interferences did not elicit stone-throwing as previous ones did. Instead, those who
could simply abandoned the KNCU and exploited other social and economic avenues opened up by independence. Often they did so legally, but sometimes they quietly subverted unfriendly policies of a state to which they now owed some loyalty.