CHANGING TIMES, UNCHANGING GOD

I am currently attending a BiAnnual Convocation organised by the Kenya Christian Lawyers' Fellowship on behalf of Advocates Africa. Advocates Africa is a network of Christian Lawyers' Associations in Africa, whose mission is to stregthen the national associations towards the attainment of their common goal of a just society.  This year's Convocation is being held at the Sarova Whitesands Hotel, Mombasa and the theme is CHANGING TIMES, UNCHANGING GOD.

Each day of the Convocation was started off by Scripture Expositions on the Book of 1 John by Bishop David Oginde and Justice Daniel Musinga who delivered the  Exposition for the last day. Bishop Oginde challenged us to be true Christians in our daily walk because it will reflect in each and everything we do. The Convocation was opened by the Hon. Chief Justice of Kenya, Mr. David Kenani Maraga who is also a practicing Christian. The Chief Justice made some profound statements during his opening address ; key amongst which was that the men and women who were attending this convocation are there ''for a time such as this'' as stated in Esther 4:18. He therefore said that we should rise to the occassion and enable the least of our brethren in society to survive. He asked us to rhetorically imagine what it would be like if ALL Christian lawyers were to LIVE their faith. 

The President of the Law Society of Kenya, Mr. Allen Waiyaki Gichuhi also challenged us to come out of our cacoons (read comfort zone) and become more participatory in the affairs of our nations. He decried laxity of the Christian lawyer to be relevant and lead in these perilous times. He therefore called upon us to imitate the missionaries who braved the jungles of Africa to spread the good news and transform the continet to what it is today. He  further challenged us to live up to our solemn duty to give solutions to what is going on today. 

Interestingly, during the High Tea Welcome Reception, the word of the evening, as delivered by Mr. Paul Ndemo was in the same light. During the Convocation, the topics delivered at the Convocation were about Freedom of Conscience and the right to practice religion; the lawyer and mental well being, transitional justice ( where I was honoured to speak as a panelist), Access to Justice (where Justcie Mike Chibita of Uganda and Mhairi Hamilton of CLEAR International spoke), Experiences from the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum, Cross Border Legal Practice and Globolization of Legal practice,  Emerging areas of Legal Practice ( Maritime Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution). At the end of the Transitional Justice talk, we prayed for  peace, forgiveness and reconciliation in our various countries. As we were praying, we were unaware that the Lord was already doing something great. I testify that the specific tension between Uganda and Rwanda is now on the mend after the signing of a pact between the two nations yesterday. Amen.

Mombasa Terminus of the Nairobi -Mombasa SGR Train.

As I write this, I reflect on the various ways in which the Christian Lawyer can become an influencer of public policy and transformation in his or her respective country. My view is that we ought to emphasise on developing the leadership potential of our Christian lawyers.  It is clearly not enough to have a law degree or specialities in law if we are to be relevant today. I therefore recommend that those who are able to, should consider attending the Transform Leadership Gathering.  I also wish to interest the reader in planning to attend the Fearless Summit 2020, which is an amazing leadership opportunity organised by Mavuno Church. More so, we should remain active peacebuilders in all that we do. We further need to commit and be faithful to regular meetings and fellowships to continue encouraging each other, but also to commit to supporting the various transformation activities that our local / national Fellowships are doing. Furtherstill, as proposed at the Convocation, we should continue building synergies on how to work together and support each other's efforts, share information and partner across the continent. 

It is my hope that when we meet at the next Convocation in 2021, we shall be able to report about the positive steps we have taken in the next few months. 

Amen.