The Kairos in the past, present and future in South Africa: Prophetic voice after 40 years of the Kairos Document

Abstract

This article consists of five parts. Firstly, the statements are documented in the Kairos Document of 1985; secondly, the impact of the Kairos Document on the road to negotiation and freedom in South Africa is discussed. Thirdly, the article discusses the lack of the prophetic voice from 1994 to 2009, when the leadership landscape changed from President Mbeki to President Zuma, and corruption, stealing from the poor, state capture, and shifting consciousness surfaced in the democratic South Africa. Fourthly, the shift of the African National Congress (ANC) led by President Zuma from the South African Councils of Churches (SACC) as a prophetic voice to the National Interfaith Council of South Africa (NICSA) as the prophets in the court (pseudo-prophetic voice), like the Old Testament court prophets. The establishment of NICSA was the re-establishment of the state theology. Fifthly, the shift from the Zuma era to Ramaphosa’s era, with a change to empowering the black elite, at the expense of the poor. The South African situation under the Government of National Unity will be evaluated based on the Kairos Document statement and the people of South Africa’s voice on poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The research method to be followed is qualitative, involving a literature study and observation.
Contribution: The theological framework will be political theology, where the churches and theologians should speak for the people of South Africa.