The Unfinished Peace Testimony in East Africa

A Challenge Both Spiritual and Practical

Quakers are world-renowned for their peace testimony. The testimony is characterized by a rejection of all outward wars, strife, and global fighting. Quakers are known as advocates for nonviolence as a means to solve conflicts, and they practice conscientious objection and mediation in times of war.

In Search for a Peace Testimony 

I grew up in a Quaker home in Kenya where peace wasn’t just a theological concept. On my dad’s bookshelf, there were old copies of Quaker Life magazines, Pendle Hill pamphlets, and Faith and Practice. As a child, I often read these publications that Dad had brought home from international gatherings of Friends. My father was a pastor who received his theological training at Kaimosi in Kenya and later at Woodbrooke College in England. In the local village church, he often preached about peace, tying it to the Quaker peace testimony. At home, Dad prayed for world peace, especially peace in the Middle East where conflict was rife.

As I grew older, I became aware of the disconnect between the powerful peace testimony in Quaker literature and the practice of peace in Quaker communities in Kenya. Kenya has the largest Quaker population of any African country; it hosts about 120,000 congregants. This is estimated to be half the world’s Quaker population, yet little is known about the peace testimony beyond it being a Quaker heritage. In many local meetings, the peace testimony is rarely emphasized. Younger Quakers are largely unaware of the testimony as a living spiritual and social responsibility. Similarly, Quaker publications in Kenya rarely feature material on the peace testimony. 

The peace testimony is largely viewed as a cherished historical principle rather than an active calling. For example, during the post-election violence in Kenya which occurred in 2007–2008, communities were torn apart by ethnic conflict in most regions in Kenya. Although international mediators led by Kofi Annan helped steer negotiations, Kenyan churches were largely silent, including Quakers. In some meetings, there were certain members who felt that Quakers’ voices should have been more pronounced during the conflict. 

In the 1990s, the Rwandan Genocide shook the East African region. Many people sought refuge in Kenya and began living in our communities. Some refugees began worshiping in Quaker churches, for example at Friends International Centre Church in Nairobi. Even then, discussions on peace within many Quaker meetings were muted. 

Recent political tensions across the East African region have opened national conversations about governance, justice, civic participation, and state-sponsored violence. Often, the tension arises from police brutality or, more recently, using armed goons. For instance, excessive use of force against unarmed protesters during the 2024 Gen Z protests in Kenya has been reported by the media. Similar trends have been witnessed in the 2025 post-election violence that occurred in Tanzania. 

Questions continue to be raised about the role of the Church during an emerging political crisis. The silence of the Church, including Quakers, has raised difficult questions. What does it mean to uphold the peace testimony in conflict situations? Does the Church’s silence constitute a form of witness, or is it an avoidance tactic?

Newer Challenges to the Peace Testimony

In contemporary society, the peace testimony is being challenged by newer forms of violence. Violence is no longer just physical conflict but extends into the digital sphere. Social media platforms such as Facebook, X, and WhatsApp have become hot spots where political hostility and ethnic hatred is traded. The online spaces are hotbeds of cyberbullying and misinformation.

Online gender-based violence is also a worrying trend that necessitates a response from faith communities. The prevalence of femicide in Kenya and across the region points to a growing culture of violence against women and girls in our communities. Such forms of violence undermine human dignity and contradict the values of peace and equality that are upheld by the peace testimony. 

How should Quakers respond in the face of new forms of violence? How can they promote safe digital spaces and provide support for survivors of newer forms of violence?

Challenges to peace are not just external to the Church but are also internal. In Kenya, divisions within yearly meetings have created leadership struggles and strained relations. In the aftermath of conflicts within yearly meetings, there has been a limited emphasis on reconciliation processes.

These tensions raise difficult but necessary questions. Can Quakers speak credibly against violence in the society, when there are simmering tensions in their backyards?  Is it possible for Quakers to unconditionally embrace reconciliation and peaceful conflict resolution within their own church structures?

There is a push among Quakers in Kenya for a strong umbrella body that can speak authoritatively both nationally and internationally. The establishment of the Friends Church Kenya (FCK) demonstrates the desire for a unified Quaker voice in the region. It is not clear what kind of resources they are willing to deploy towards the urgent need for a peace agenda in the region, nor even to what extent peace is a priority. 

Should Quakers seek a top organ like FCK to speak for them, or can they act locally? Is it more desirable for local meetings to mobilize resources from within their ranks and actively contribute to strengthening nonviolent approaches to the many political and social issues plaguing the region? These are not merely administrative questions; they go to the heart of whether Quaker peace testimony in Kenya will remain a symbolic heritage.

Raising Voices for Peace

It is not all gloom among Quakers across Africa. There are some notable peace initiatives spearheaded by Friends in the region. Initiatives such as the Muinda Project for Peace have brought together divided communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where conflict is rife. Quakers have invested in social programs to strengthen community resilience in Burundi. Quakers also established peace centers in Rwanda in the aftermath of the Genocide. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has continued to advocate for peace in the East African region. 

Individual Quakers have powerful peace testimonies that deserve wider recognition. One notable example is Miriam Were, whose lifetime work in public health has contributed to peace and justice among communities. Her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize by AFSC brought her important contribution to the limelight. Efforts by Miriam Baker to document the work that ordinary Quakers have done for peace on the continent is commendable.

Younger generations of Quakers may not be fully aware of the work the church is doing for peace because most of the initiatives are not funded from within the local Quaker church and rely on other donors. This work is largely unpublicized in local meetings.

One is likely to find banners displaying the SPICES testimonies in some urban Quaker churches in Kenya. In rural village meetings, which are the majority, such symbolic reminders of the peace testimony are largely absent. The problem is compounded by the lack of structured teaching or literature on peace.

For many younger Quakers the peace testimony appears in their homes and local meetings when Quakers pray for world peace or the end of conflict in the Middle East, just as my father often did. Local and regional conflicts, however, often receive less attention from Quakers even when it affects our immediate communities.

The peace testimony remains unfinished work among Quakers in the Global South. In October 2023, there was a gathering of Friends in Burundi to reflect on peace strategies in the face of evolving conflicts across the continent. Perhaps this marks a renewal of a concerted effort to rekindle the peace testimony as a form of shared witness among Friends. 

It is important for Quakers to find novel ways of living out the peace testimony in challenging times. This could be in subtle ways such as how we speak, create online content, and engage with online communities. Quakers should look within and strengthen reconciliation and dialogue among local and yearly meetings, if they are to speak with conviction and with one voice about national or even regional peace. 

The challenge among Quakers in Kenya is not only spiritual but practical. There is a need to ensure that the peace testimony is not only remembered and celebrated solely as a Quaker heritage but lived practically as an essential part of our future in a continent shaped by recurring conflicts.