We fully agree with this statement, despite the manifest outcomes
of his leadership of this country for 24 years when he was presi-
dent. Leaders without integrity would not act responsibly and
cannot lead any country to prosperity, as they will always be con-
cerned about themselves.
d) Visionary Insight : Visionary leaders will be able to foresee the
needs of the people they lead. They will then plan and mobilise
resources in order to meet those needs. The Sessional Paper No.10 of
1965 on African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya
articulated a very clear vision for this country. The leaders spelt out
what they envisaged for the Republic of Kenya, especially in the fight
to eradicate the three problems facing this country up to now —
poverty, disease and ignorance. After more than forty years of
national sovereignty, the country is still plagued by those problems.
The main reason is that we have never had visionary leaders. Such
leaders would be like Nehemiah, that leader in the Old Testament
who had a vision for reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem. Pro-
fessor Jesse Mugambi graphically summarises Nehemiah’s visionary
action thus : ‘Nehemiah’s approach is useful to the extent that he
helps us to appreciate the relationship between prayer and planning ;
between work and worship ; between despair and hope ; between the
elite and the ordinary people ; between the priesthood and the laity.’^11
Leaders who are visionary will in no doubt be as responsible just as
Nehemiah was.
e) Role Models : Responsible leaders would wish to be role
models not only for the adults they are leading but also for the youth
who are soon to take over from them. They must therefore set good
examples. The responsibility of being role models goes hand in hand
with moral probity. The conduct of leaders will greatly influence the
behaviour of their followers and their youth. Since this is a matter of
ethics we have to formulate the moral code that will guide us. Max
Weber extensively discusses this point and outlines the core values
that may be found in religion – whether it be Christianity or other
religions of the world – which he calls, ‘Ethics of Conviction’.^12 He
further describes the ‘Ethics of Responsibility,’ which theologians
could argue is provided for in ‘general revelation’. Weber rightly con-
cludes : ‘... the ethics of conviction and the ethics of responsibility
are not absolute opposites. They are complementary to one another,
and only in combination do they produce the true human being’.^13 It
is important for us to appreciate the fact that in practice, we shall be
guided by the virtues presupposed in our cultural and religious tra-
ditions and in the teachings of the missionary religions that we
adhere to.
A Kenyan Perspective 269