The politics of negative ethnicity and Christian social responsibility in Kenya : a research into the effects of ethnic conflicts during and after general elections since 1991 on the ongoing Christian formation especially among the youth of the catholic diocese of Nakuru

The articulations of the argumentations of this dissertation were guided by its endeavour to seek answers to the posted research questions. To be precise the research tackled three basic questions. First of all, it tried to find out the reasons as to why a country the calibre of Kenya whereby 80 percent of the population are Christians could still experience ethnic conflicts and violence in times of challenges. Could such a scenario suggest from the Christian point of view that the Gospel message in Kenya has not been fully integrated in the daily life of the individual Christian person? Secondly in order to envision an integral unity in diversity, the research sought to find out the possibilities of reuniting the people of Kenya who have since been divided ethnically, politically, culturally and socially. Such is aimed at enabling the Kenyan people to tolerate each other and appreciate one another as brothers and sisters despite their diversities. The third question which the research ventured into was that, as to what remedy or options could be offered especially by the Church to hinder future conflicts facing the Kenyan people from escalating to ethnic violence? Has the Church fulfilled her prophetic role in the Kenyan society? In the endeavour to answer the above pointed out research questions, this dissertation first of all analyzed, accessed and evaluated the Kenyan historical background, recognizing the fact that a people`s history has a great influence on their present way of life. In this case the Kenyan society has been influenced from its inception by its multi-cultural background, the colonial rule, missionary activities of evangelization and ethnic struggles for identity and political power. Therefore, one could not attempt to discuss the problems presented by this research without critically touching on the above historical aspects and areas.The articulations of the argumentations of this dissertation were guided by its endeavour to seek answers to the posted research questions. To be precise the research tackled three basic questions. First of all, it tried to find out the reasons as to why a country the calibre of Kenya whereby 80 percent of the population are Christians could still experience ethnic conflicts and violence in times of challenges. Could such a scenario suggest from the Christian point of view that the Gospel message in Kenya has not been fully integrated in the daily life of the individual Christian person? Secondly in order to envision an integral unity in diversity, the research sought to find out the possibilities of reuniting the people of Kenya who have since been divided ethnically, politically, culturally and socially. Such is aimed at enabling the Kenyan people to tolerate each other and appreciate one another as brothers and sisters despite their diversities. The third question which the research ventured into was that, as to what remedy or options could be offered especially by the Church to hinder future conflicts facing the Kenyan people from escalating to ethnic violence? Has the Church fulfilled her prophetic role in the Kenyan society? In the endeavour to answer the above pointed out research questions, this dissertation first of all analyzed, accessed and evaluated the Kenyan historical background, recognizing the fact that a people`s history has a great influence on their present way of life. In this case the Kenyan society has been influenced from its inception by its multi-cultural background, the colonial rule, missionary activities of evangelization and ethnic struggles for identity and political power. Therefore, one could not attempt to discuss the problems presented by this research without critically touchingsubmitted by: Francis Kiplimo ChepkutoAbweichender Titel laut Übersetzung des VerfassersUniversität Innsbruck, Dissertation, 2016OeBB(VLID)130227