One country that could have made a great impact on the propagation of Humanism as a practical discipline in Africa is Kenya. A country that has been confirmed by archaeologists to be the origin of mankind, (the works of the Leakey family), yet didn’t possess a Humanist organisation, not until 2004.
Since the Humanist and Ethical Union of Kenya was founded, first as a project at the University of Nairobi and later, as a civil organisation dubbed Project Nabuur, a lot of stigma has been attached to its fate in Kenya. There are several essential differences between different tribal groups, and organised Humanism. However, it is possible to make concessions to certain African cultural systems for Humanist groups to assimilate into mainstream African traditions in order to become acceptable. After all, reality is always relative, never absolute.

In order to grow, Humanism in Kenya must encourage teaching, research and writing. All these are activities that are dependent on the prowess and intellectual calibre of individuals. It is therefore essential that we learn to write our thoughts, to open them up for criticism so as to maintain a pragmatic development.

We need to avoid making the same mistakes as our forefathers if we are to progress and grow this movement. We need to develop a scientific approach to living, we need to develop an evidence-based approach of reasoning and that is why blogs moderated by African Humanists and books that demonstrate Humanism from Africa’s perspective are important tools of propagation.

There are several obstacles to the growth of the Humanist movement in Africa. Lack of funds, poor membership and general neglect of the social system have all contributed to the sorry state of Humanism in Kenya. Many Kenyan Humanists have no access to funds by which they could attend international conferences abroad. It has also become virtually impossible to purchase books and journals on Western Humanism as a result of the devaluation of the Kenyan currency. Under these circumstances, it is evident that publishing in Humanism within Kenya would require a lot of ingenuity and improvisation on the part of Kenyan Humanists, who have no access to current books and journals, and who have to make do with obsolete information systems like oral messages. As for the Internet, where accessible it is expensive.

If the prevailing condition of Humanism in Kenya is anything to go by, we may just as well call it the destruction song. If even a few Humanist groups in Kenya can boast of well known Humanists as, for example, in Britain, Norway or U.S.A., and these few groups are well funded then perhaps they could put the name Kenya on the Humanist map of the world. That is to say, we shall rely on quality rather than the quantity of Humanist groups in Kenya.

I do believe that Kenya can make its own contributions to the global reach of Humanist thought. However we need international intervention to make Humanism a stable practice, not only in Kenya, but in Africa at large. The nature of such intervention is up to established Humanist groups to decide. The facts remain clear, Kenyans for a better Kenya today!

Boaz Adhengo is the President for Humanist and Ethical Union of Kenya. At present he lectures at the United States International University – Africa (Nairobi) where he is pursuing a detailed degree in International Relations. He also serves as a fellow for Eco Ethics International Union.