Universities as Sites of Epistemic Warfare: The Case of USK, CENA and Kimbanguist Pedagogy

Abstract

Contrary to the polite fiction that universities are neutral spaces of “free inquiry”, this article argues that they are primary theatres of epistemic warfare. Using the case of Université Simon Kimbangu (USK) and CENA as a focal point, I examine how curricula, language policies and publication standards either reinforce or subvert the imperial order analysed by Kibavuidi Nsiangani (2010, 2014; this issue) and historicised by Mawete (this issue). The empirical base includes internal syllabi, minutes of faculty meetings, interviews with students and lecturers, and a mapping of which languages and scripts are authorised in teaching and assessment. I identify three axes of struggle: (1) the fight over legitimate references (who gets cited), (2) the fight over scripts (Latin vs Mandombe) and (3) the fight over diagnostic frameworks (Eurocentric psychology vs DSM-H). The article shows how Kimbanguist pedagogy, grounded in African spiritual and historical experience, offers a counter-epistemic infrastructure that supports the federative and linguistic proposals advanced elsewhere in this issue. At the same time, it critically documents internal contradictions and co-optation risks, warning that even decolonial institutions can reproduce the narcissistic patterns described in Kibavuidi’s later clinical work in the health and psychology journal. The conclusion calls for a deliberate re-weaponisation of universities in the service of African sovereignty.