Kenya has 755,750 atheists according to the 2019 census report – but very few people have come out in public to declare their disassociation with God.
Only two Kenyans have been bold enough to make their true feelings towards God known to the public.
Kenyan rapper Henry Ohanga, popularly known as Octopizzo, and President of Atheists in Kenya Mr. Harrison Mumia, are probably the only two Kenyans who have come out clearly to discount the existence of God.
Just recently, in April 2021, Octopizzo shocked Kenyans when he said: “Holiness is shit.”
“We don’t do that holiness shit!” the musician had said while responding to a fan.
In 2017, he had said that whereas he believed there was power above everyone, that power did not have control over him.
Octopizzo is mad at God because – apparently – he had failed to protect his mother and father when death came knocking on their door in Kibera.
“Where was he when my mum died? That is the question I keep asking myself, I don’t believe in Religion, I believe there is a power over us I just don’t know who, but whoever he is he doesn’t have control over me” Octopizzo said in 2017.
“I lost my dad when I was 14; I lost my mum when I was 15. I stayed in the streets; I’m raised in the streets, I stopped believing in god when I lost my mum. ”
“I am not a religious person but I think maybe there’s somebody out there over us but if that guy was that important, he could have helped my mum. He could have taken my dad and left my mum. But they took my mum so fuck religion,” the rapper ‘spit’ on God.
On his part – Harrison Mumia has distinguished himself as the self-proclaimed president of Atheists in Kenya (AIK) – and has been actively recruiting members.
In a bold move, Mumia had applied to the church to cancel his membership and remove any records associated with him, since he no longer considered himself a Christian.
“I don’t see why I should hold on to something that I don’t believe in,” the information technology expert told Religion News Service.
Mumia wrote in October 17, “I request for an official certificate of renunciation signed by a senior member of the Quakers Church in Kenya to be issued to me as a confirmation that my request has been accepted.”
Kilifi has the highest number of atheists
Mumia recalled being sprinkled with water as a young teen at the church. In his letter he said: “As an atheist, I no longer accept the implications of the rite of baptism.”
Mumia stopped believing in God after he failed to find sufficient and convincing answers to his questions about morality, creation and faith in the holy texts.
Atheists in Kenya, led by Mumia have been engaged in a religious fight with Kenyan evangelical and Pentecostal church leaders who issued a joint statement opposing atheism on January, 11, 2016.
According to census data, Kilifi has the highest number of atheists with the number put at 146,669 followed by Nakuru (67,640).
The census report also showed that Protestants lead with 15,777,473 Kenyans in the religion, followed by 9,726,169 Catholics.
The report notes that 9,648,690 belong to evangelical churches.
African Instituted Churches consisted of 3,292,573, Orthodox (201,263), Other Christian (1,732,911), Islam (5,152,194), Hindu (60,287 ), Traditionists (318,727).