KENYA: Religious Leaders Call for Change of Heart to Avert Conflict that Often Arises During General Elections
Members of Dialogue Reference Group. (Credit, Public Domain)
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Members of the Dialogue Reference Group (DRG), a religious leader driven dialogue platform in Kenya have called on all Kenyans to have an “urgent change of heart” lest the country faces violence and conflict in the next General Elections which are scheduled for 2022.
“If we do not journey that path, we risk experiencing widespread conflict and violence before, during and after the forthcoming 2022 General Elections,” representatives of Religious leaders said in their collective statement dated Friday, October 16.
They ask all citizens “and more so the political and religious leaders, to spearhead a national dialogue process designed to defuse tension in the country.”
Emphasizing on the need for change of heart the DRG members said that, “As a nation, we must always recall that the Covid-19 pandemic has impoverished more than 45 percent of the population (and) this means that there are more citizens who are poorer, desperate, hungry and angry, which are potent ingredients for explosive conflict.”
The DRG comprises of eight different religious groups and is chaired by a representative of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde of Mombasa Archdiocese.
In their Friday statement, the religious leaders decry the government’s delay in replacement of commissioners in the body responsible for overseeing elections in Kenya, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and filling the vacancies as was promised four years ago.
“The IEBC is once again suffering from a serious case of leadership and credibility crisis,” the statement reads in part and continues, “It is greatly worrying that 20 months before the elections, the four commissioners who resigned have not been replaced, and the process of appointing a substantive Chief Executive Officer is in limbo.”
As a way forward, the DRG “recommend that a Joint Parliamentary Select Committee be urgently put in place to legislate a legal framework for appointment of IEBC Commissioners that is not controlled by political parties” and insists, “Commissioners should be fully independent of political influences.”
“There is need for the IEBC to regularly update and involve Kenyans in the preparations for the 2022 General Elections. We must avoid handling the elections as an emergency,” the DRG added.
In reference to “190 billion Kenya Shillings that the Country received to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic (approximately US $1,745,521,355), which were not accounted for,” the Religious leaders urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to institute a broadbased consultative process to develop a corruption eradication strategy for the nation” so as to “deal with corruption effectively.”
The group whose driving theme is “Reconciling and restoring Kenya through structured dialogue,” also noted that security agencies have “hindered activities at places of worship,” which is not appropriate and calling for an “immediate stop.”
“While religious leaders underscore the need for law and order, we desire to see the laws applied equally to all Kenyans so that justice is not only done but also seen to be done,” the Religious leaders stated.
In conclusion, the DRG has urged Kenyans to embrace truth and resist those who peddle lies making clarification that “whereas justice is core to humanity and a stable nation, justice itself is dependent on truth.”
