John Henry Okullu (1929, Ramba Village, Asembo Central Location, Siaya District,

Nyanza Province Nyanza Province (; sw, Mkoa wa Nyanza) was one of Kenya's Provinces of Kenya, eight administrative provinces before the formation of the Counties of Kenya, 47 counties under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 constitution. Six counties were organis ...

– 1999) was a Kenyan Anglican bishop and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. Okullu was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the Anglican Church of Kenya known for his outspoken criticism of the Kenyan government. He married Esther Benta Nyambok in 1951 and they had 6 children. He was ordained an Anglican

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1957, then as a priest in 1958. Okullu studied at Virginia Theological Seminary from 1963 to 1965, earning a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

degree. From 1962 to 1971, he was the editor of a Christian Newspaper in Uganda called New Day. He was consecrated as the first black provost of the Nairobi All Saints Cathedral in 1971 and Bishop of Maseno South Diocese where he served until his retirement in 1994. Okullu was known for his political engagement. His first book was "Church and Politics in East Africa", published in 1974, which was an early call for pluralistic democracy. In this book he wrote, "The best system of government is one that is based on the principle of the constant exchange of ideas between the rulers and the ruled: a system which provides everyone with an opportunity to make his or her political contribution to the best of his ability and knowledge." Okullu became an outspoken critic of President Daniel arap Moi, criticizing the government over the murder of Foreign Minister Robert Ouko and calling for the introduction of pluralistic politics and fair elections. Despite their public disagreements, Okullu met with President Moi a number of times to provide guidance on issues such as how to respond to election violence in 1992. He published four books, including an autobiography.Francis Manana, Dictionary of African Christian Biography, http://www.dacb.org/stories/kenya/okullu_johnhenry.html

References

1929 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Anglican bishops of the Anglican Church of Kenya Anglican bishops of Maseno South {{anglican-bishop-stub