Akorino Music As a Tool of Resistance in Kenya

A Theo-historical Review

Abstract

This article sets out to explore how the Akorino Church, whose official name is the Holy Ghost Church of East Africa, has used music as a tool of resistance since the 1920s, when it began as an African-instituted ecclesiastical outfit. Were its forms of resistance set against Westernisation of Christianity, spiritual decay, ecclesial lukewarmness, acculturation, hegemonic politics, and neo-colonialism, among other societal malpractices within and beyond Kenya’s territorial space? Were its general forms of resistance holistic and an all-rounded appeal to the vicissitudes of life? In utilising a theo-historical design, this article seeks to understand how the Akorino adherents have used music in their religio-cultural discourses since its establishment as an African-instituted church. The main concern is: How has the Akorino music expressed itself as a tool of resistance within the ecclesiastical circles and in the larger society? In its methodology, the study uses a qualitative meta-synthesis approach, which synthesises epistemologies from multiple qualitative studies and phenomenology to produce new, interpretive, and actionable knowledge, often transforming fragmented data into a comprehensive theoretical model. Ripples are that it strives to transform the fragmented data on the Akorino music, which is viewed in this article as a tool of holistic resistance. It comprehensively documents it for broader consumption in academia.