Ubuntu Theology and Ecumenical Leadership as a Relational Paradigm for Poverty Eradication in Kenya

Abstract

This article argues that Ubuntu theology, when operationalized through ecumenical leadership, provides a transformative and decolonized framework for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1) in Kenya. While mainstream poverty eradication strategies remain tethered to technocratic, neoliberal, and Western individualistic paradigms, this study advocates for a "relational turn" in development praxis that centres the African ontology of "I am because we are." By critically interrogating the roles of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) and the All-Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the research exposes a persistent tension between indigenous communal values and the individualistic metrics necessitated by Western donor dependency. Drawing on high-impact 2024–2026 initiatives, specifically the AACC’s "Africa: My Home. My Future." campaign and the NCCK’s Locally-Led Adaptation programs, the study demonstrates how reframing poverty as a "communal wound" enables a more sustainable and culturally resonant approach to development. The findings assert that ecumenical leadership facilitates a "liberative diakonia" that restores human dignity and social solidarity, proving that for SDG 1 to be realised in the Global South, international partnerships must be harmonized with theological integrity and local communal agency.