Who are the Quakers?

The Friends Church in Kenya (FCK) is back in the news.

Commonly going by the sobriquet Quakers, and officially known globally as the Religious Society of Friends, the integrity-driven and sometimes controversial denomination hit the headlines three weeks ago when Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka accompanied a delegation of its leadership and 6,000 members when they were hosted by President William Ruto at State House.

To one and all, Quakers are known as the Christian faith whose followers do not swear on the Bible, but instead simply raise their right hand to affirm their testimony.

Quakers believe that telling the truth must be consistent at all times and does not therefore need an oath as that amounts to double standards and unreliability before God, the Creator.

In the years gone by, Quakers in Kenya have come the limelight whenever one of its members is elected to Parliament or appointed to the Cabinet and opt to affirm instead of swearing on the Bible.

That was the case during the parliamentary and ministerial swearing-in ceremonies involving the late powerful Local Government Minister and Sabatia Member of Parliament Moses Substone Mudavadi, the late Agriculture and Kimilili MP Elijah Wasike Mwangale, the late Malava lawmaker and Housing Minister Peter Soita Shitanda and former United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) secretary-general, former Malava MP and Minister for Health Joshua Mulanda Angatia and one time Trade Minister and Kimilili MP Dr Mukhisa Kituyi as well Musalia Mudavadi who also currently serves as the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary and the Directot of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga.

Beyond the memorable once in a while swearing-in event, few Kenyans know about the Friends Church.

Both around the world and in Kenya, Quakers have been involved in the establishment of impactful health, entrepreneurial and educational facilities.

A highly ethical religious group, the Friends Church has had its presence in Kenya since 1902 following the arrival of three American missionaries—Willis R. Hotchkis, Arthur B. Chilson, and Edgar T. Hole who had been sent by the Friends Africa Industrial Mission from Ohio, the United States.

The three missionaries established the first permanent Quaker station in the Kaimosi Forest, Vihiga County of Western Kenya.

With an estimated membership of over 150, 000 followers, today, Kenya hosts the largest concentration of Quakers worldwide.

The church is an offshoot of the Church of England. It was started in the Midlands and North West of England in the 17th Century by a young inquisitive and provocative man called George Fox who challenged some of the practices by the Anglicans such as drinking of alcohol and which he believed contradicted the Bible.

Fox had always had reservations with the conduct of the members of the Church of England from the age of 12 years but it was in 1647 when he opted to break away at the age of 23 years old to establish the Religious Society of Friends.

The Quakers church is founded on six strong pillars summarised as ‘SPICES’. Thus: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship.

In their strict adherence to these virtues, Fox and other members of the Society were repeatedly persecuted for their beliefs, being thrown in jail and tortured every now and then.

It was while in the dock on one of the occasions that Fox teased the presiding magistrate he was appearing before to be quaking whenever the name of God was mentioned in his presence.

It was from that incident that the church was given the sobriquet Quakers, which has stuck to this day.

Sticklers to the six virtues are uncompromising crusaders for and defenders of rights, freedoms and liberties for everyone and everybody.

They are fearlessly faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ, do not take or give bribes, abhor business exploitation and do not lie or bear false witnesses.

They are firm followers of Christ who do not kill, steal or lie.

Quakers hold the respected General Consultative Status at the United Nations through the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), which is their global umbrella body.

That status is the highest level of accreditation granted to non-governmental organisations by the UN, allowing them to operate official representation offices.

They operate through the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) with physical locations in Geneva and New York City. Quaker Houses from where they maintain informal, off-the-record meeting spaces near the UN headquarters to host diplomats, UN staff, and experts for quiet dialogue and consensus-building.

Their core focus is on areas of Peace and Disarmament: Advocating against violent conflict and supporting peace-building systems. Human Rights: Working on refugee protections, conscientious objection, and criminal justice reform (such as the rights of children of prisoners).

They also address human and social impacts of global climate change.

Kenya hosts the largest concentration of Quakers worldwide, with an estimated membership of 150, 000 followers, mostly in Western Kenya.

The Friends Church was established in Kenya in 1902, at Kaimosi in Vihiga County.

Beyond Kenya and the United Kingdom, the State of Pennsylvania in the United States was founded by exiled English Quakers and even named it after its founder William Penn.

The word Slavania is a native American term that means woodlands, woods or forest.

Thus, Pennsylvania means the Woodlands or forest of Penn.

Quakers were also instrumental in the establishment of New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island states.

The Quakers Church has to date established more than five universities in the United States and more than 10 flourishing schools in the United Kingdom.

Quakers believe in peaceful resolutions of conflicts and abhor violence of any form. Initially, Quakers were opposed to conscription into warfare. A practice that brought them into conflict with the Monarchy in England where they were killed, imprisoned or sent into exile owing to their beliefs.

They believe in direct worship to God and that God the Creator ranks above any creature, including man.

That belief is one of the reasons that triggered a clash between Quakers and the English monarchy when worshippers resisted the move to prioritise the Crown ahead of God, famously declaring that the Cross comes before the Crown.

Also, the Quakers were key architects of the Industrial Revolution in England.

They were on the forefront of the abolition of slavery crusade in the US, the fight for the independence of the United States and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s in that country.

Former United States Presidents Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover were Quakers while former First Lady Dolley Payne Madison, the wife of fourth President of the United States, James Madison was a Quaker.

Global entrepreneurial empires founded by Quakers include Barclays Bank, Cadbury’s, Clarke and Lloyds Bank of London.

Some of the notable Quaker public figures in Kenya include the Mudavadis, Prof. Miriam Were, Kenya’s first deputy chairman of the Public Service Commission, Benjamin Shidzugane Ngaira, the late Prof. Norah Olembo, the late prominent cardiologist Dr Benaya Majisu.

Some of the prominent learning institutions established by the Quakers in Kenya include Friends’ Kaimosi University (formerly Kaimosi Teachers’ College), Chavakali High School, Alliance Boys and Girls’ High Schools, Musingu Boys’ High School, Kaimosi Girls’ High School, Lugulu Girls’ High School, Friends’ School Kamusinga (Boys), Malava Boys’ High School, Friends’ Kaimosi Teachers College, Vokoli Girls’ High School and Kivaywa Boys ‘ High School, among others.

The prestigious Alliance schools, were mooted in 1926 by the Alliance of Protestant Churches in Kenya, of which the Quakers Church was a prominent member.

Some of the medical institutions founded by Quakers in Kenya include the Kaimosi Mission Jumuia Hospital, Lugulu Mission Hospital, Lirhanda Friends Mission Clinic and the Sabatia Eye Hospital.