January 15, 1997: Dr. Jesse Macharia Kamau (left) is elected the new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, succeeding the Rt. Rev Bernard Muindi. Rev Kamau, of Nairobi’s Bahati Parish, won a hotly contested election during the church’s 15th General Assembly, beating the PCEA’s outgoing Secretary-General, the Rev Samuel Mwaniki, comfortably. Dr Kamau garnered 21 out of a possible 26 votes. The Dean of Studies at the church’s Pastoral Institute, the Rev Patrick Marangu Rukenya, became the new Secretary General. Rev Kamau assumes office in April, when the Rt. Rev Muindi’s second term expires. The Rt. Rev Muindi served as Moderator for two three-year terms. The elections were conducted at the PCEA’s South ‘C’ headquarters in Nairobi. Seven candidates were nominated to vie for the Moderator’s post. The others were the Rev Samuel Theuri of Tumutumu Parish in Nyeri, the Rev Plawson Kuria (Kiambu), the Rev Mwangi Mungai (Kajiado), the Rev John Mburu Mwaura and the Rev E. Iguna of Dar-es-Saalam, Tanzania. Pictured here with Rev. Timothy Murere Njoya