Our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”

Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Sunday returned to the Anglican Church with the 'Yes’ message and, this time, he used the Bible to woo the congregation to the 'Yes’ camp.

Mr Odinga and his wife Ida, were at the All-Saints Cathedral, where they waxed biblical on the need for the country to pass the new Constitution, saying the scriptures had many analogies on why the proposed law should be endorsed in the August 4 referendum.

The Prime Minister cited 2 Corinthians 1: 18-20.

He insisted that someone else reads the verse. It was read: “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. (New International Version).”

There was laughter and clapping from the congregation at Mr Odinga’s political guile.

The PM then said: “That’s not Raila Odinga speaking; it’s the Bible.”

Out of context

However, just as he sat down, Anglican Archbishop Eliud Wabukala accused the PM of quoting the verse out of context.

Archbishop Wabukala said the whole chapter was “addressing a leadership in a crisis” and the verse had nothing to do with the referendum debate, but rather with the promises of God.

He said the running theme in the epistle is about comfort of the church. “We know God who comforts us, will comfort Kenya.”

Archbishop Wabukala did not delve into the debate and instead insisted that it was important for the “church to stay united.” He said that beginning Thursday (July 1) the Anglicans will go into prayer mode, for at least five minutes at every service, to pray for the country. August 1, the Archbishop said, had been set aside to pray for the referendum.

He added: “I have a faith that even a miracle can happen to unlock this process.”

But before that, Ms Odinga had also used the Bible to tell the church that is was crucial to vote 'Yes’ on August 4 and then amend later.

Ms Odinga said that just like it is difficult to separate seeds for unwanted plants before planting, it was important for Kenyans to let the seeds grow and then weed out the wild plants.

“That’s why you should vote 'Yes’ and we amend later,” she said.

In a jocular mood, the PM and his wife, had used the Bible to cajole the Anglican Church, hitherto firmly in the 'No’ camp, to the 'Yes’ camp.

“Sometimes when I hear the church leaders saying the Church is for 'No’, I ask them, whom did they ask?” the Prime Minister told the congregation.

Still the PM delved into the twin issues that the church is opposed to -- abortion and Kadhi courts.

“The current law says, 'life begins at birth’, that’s why we issue birth certificates. The proposed Constitution says 'life begins at conception. We are the only country in the world to have that clause,” he said. He added that the Kadhi courts did not affect Christians.

The Church has been opposed to article 26(4) that gives direction as to circumstances under which abortion may be permitted. The church also wants the Kadhi courts set up by an Act of Parliament and not the Constitution.

Mr Odinga then repeated his trademark dismissal of the 'No’ camp: “It’s only land-grabbers who are making noise about the clauses on land...the proposed Constitution is 99.9 per cent good.”

Speaking later to journalists, he maintained that it was not a scare tactic to call the 'No’ camp 'land-grabbers’, because “they know themselves.” He said the call by the 'No’ camp that the name-calling was a scare tactic was meant to divert attention.

Mr Odinga downplayed the seeming divisions in the 'Yes’ team saying he was not even threatened by the revival of the Gema outfit to push for the new law.

“There’s no division. The 'Yes’ team does not have a leader, it has leaders. (Gema) is complementary to what we are doing,” he said.

“Kenya is a fairly large country and it will take too long to run a campaign to cover the whole country. We want to conduct a professional campaign based on facts and not cheap propaganda...we keep on comparing notes.”

He said the referendum campaigns were not about 2012 because “Kenyans will deal with that issue when the time comes.”

The PM, as a co-principal in the coalition government said the Cabinet ministers in the 'No’ camp won’t be dismissed or suspended for opposing the proposed law, it that Mr Odinga has called “a government project.”

The referendum campaigns are the first time that the coalition government has publicly sacrificed the doctrine of collective responsibility in government at the alter of democracy.

“We will not blackmail anybody. Every person has a right to decide based on their conscience,” Mr Odinga said.

But there’s a rider to that: The 'No’ team should not use inciting words in their campaign meetings or else the law will take its course. He didn’t comment further on the hate-mongers in the 'No’ camp who’ve already been arraigned in court saying doing so will be sub-judice.