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Religious leaders in Kenya speak out

In a rare show of solidarity, leaders of various faith communities in Kenya have united and issued a statement on the state of the nation. The statement by the religious leaders comes in the wake of wrangles surrounding the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).Opposition party supporters last week fought running battles with Police in Nairobi and five other cities. The opposition accuses the IEBC of incompetence, corruption and bias and wants the body to be dissolved.Presidential elections in Kenya are due next year, 2017.Police reaction to the protests was swift. They used water cannon and fired tear gas on the demonstrators.(engafrica@vatiradio.va)Below is the full statement:PRESS STATEMENTFor the love of our country, come and reason togetherPreambleWe the Religious Leaders representing the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), National Muslim Leaders Forum (NAMLEF), Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (C...

In a rare show of solidarity, leaders of various faith communities in Kenya have united and issued a statement on the state of the nation. The statement by the religious leaders comes in the wake of wrangles surrounding the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Opposition party supporters last week fought running battles with Police in Nairobi and five other cities. The opposition accuses the IEBC of incompetence, corruption and bias and wants the body to be dissolved.

Presidential elections in Kenya are due next year, 2017.

Police reaction to the protests was swift. They used water cannon and fired tear gas on the demonstrators.

(engafrica@vatiradio.va)

Below is the full statement:

PRESS STATEMENT

For the love of our country, come and reason together

Preamble

We the Religious Leaders representing the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), National Muslim Leaders Forum (NAMLEF), Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK), Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), Hindu Council of Kenya (HCK), Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) and the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK) have met at Little Daughters of St. Joseph Retreat Centre, Karen to reflect on the state of our nation, and especially the prevailing political activities ahead of the 2017 General Elections. Having analyzed the situation keenly, we are concerned that the political grand standing exhibited by the two main political formations, especially the dispute around the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), is a threat to national peace, cohesion and unity of Kenyans.

For this reason, we believe that an urgent political solution is required to avert an imminent crisis that could complicate next year’s election and plunge the country into election violence.

While we fully appreciate that the Constitution guarantees Kenyans right of expression, it must be exercised within the confines of the supreme law and not at the expense of the common good of our nation. All Kenyans and people of good will should always endeavor to contribute to building a cohesive and well integrated nation to fulfil our prayer in the National Anthem, “May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty, may plenty be found within our borders”

It is in this regard that we wish to share the following messages:

Message of Condolence to Families of Those who Died in Demonstrations

It is with sad and heavy hearts that we take this moment to condole with the families of our brothers and sister who unnecessarily died during  demonstrations last Monday. We pray that God will grant the bereaved families  strength to heal. We also pray for quick recovery of civilians and security officers who sustained injuries as well as for consolation for all those who lost property during the demonstrations.

Call to Promote a Culture of Dialogue

In its Preamble, the Constitution of Kenya 2010 recognizes “the aspirations of all Kenyans for a government based on essential values of human rights, equality, freedom, democracy, social justice and the rule of law”. For this reason, no political outfit has a right to espouse policies or practices that undermine this aspiration.

In this regard, we strongly urge the political coalitions and their respective leadership to reconsider the current political grandstanding over the term of office of IEBC Commissioners and tone down their rhetoric for the common good of our nation. We thank and appreciate the CORD leadership for calling of the weekly demonstrations. We further urge them to unconditionally call off the planned parallel Madaraka Day event. We are convinced that in so doing, they will provide an enabling environment to convene an all stakeholders’ engagement not only on the IEBC standoff but also other envisaged political reforms. In the same breath, we appeal to the government  to formally invite the CORD Principals to the National Madaraka Day event.

On their part, we urge the leadership of the ruling coalition Jubilee to genuinely reach out to CORD and soberly engage on the issues raised and build consensus on the management of the next election. We wish to remind Jubilee, CORD and other political parties that Kenyans will hold them accountable should the country slide back to anarchy because of unyielding competing political interests.

Call to the Presidency

To facilitate a mutually agreeable settlement of the current dispute over IEBC, we appeal to His Excellency the President, whose mandate rises above party, ethnic and sectoral interests, to support structured discussions with the opposition in person and in addition help create a structure for engagement of other stakeholders. Such talks will help Kenyans find a mechanism for dealing with immediate, short, and medium term issues in order to strengthen our democracy and resolve issues that undermine our national cohesion.

Message to Kenyans

We the religious leaders and your shepherds urge you, our dear brothers and sisters, to exercise restraint as we urgently pursue dialogue to find an amicable solution to the current political dispute.

Parliamentary Support to Electoral Process

We urge Parliament to speedily process the required amendments to the remaining election-related legislations and guarantee a sound and enabling environment for free, fair and credible 2017 elections. 

Conclusion

The people of Kenya declared in the Constitution that they are “determined to live in peace and unity as one indivisible sovereign nation”. For this reason, we the religious leaders are open and willing to be part of the mediation and dialogue process and undertake to promote peace, national cohesion and stability.

We wish all Kenyans a happy and blessed Madaraka Day. May God bless Kenya now and always.

Signed on this 27th day of May 2016 at Little Sisters of St Joseph Retreat Center, Karen, for and on behalf of the Religious Leaders,

Signed:

Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB)        -Rt. Rev. Philip Anyolo        

National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK         -Rev. Canon Rosemary Mbogo        

Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK)                       -Bishop Mark Kariuki  

National Muslim Leaders Forum (NAMLEF)             -Al-Hajj Yussuf Murigu        

Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC Kenya) -Rev, Fr. Joseph Mutie        

Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA)                     -Pastor Alfred Gitonga Marundu

Hindu Council of Kenya (HCK)                                -Nitim       

Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK)   -Sh. Muhamed Khan

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