KENYA: Ahead of General Elections, Prelates Urge Kenyans to be Guided by “Values and Manifestos”
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
As Kenyans look forward to the forthcoming General elections slated for Tuesday, August 9, Church leaders under their umbrella body the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) have called on citizens to be cautions when electing their leaders and choose wisely as they are guided by the “values and manifestos of the various candidates” aspiring for different positions in the parliament.
The bishops who were concerned of pro-abortion aspirants said in a press release shared with the media personnel Friday, May 27, saying: “We are aware of some leaders and candidates who have shown indications of leaning towards ideologies that are destructive to our African values and cultures. We are particularly concerned about those with pro-abortion tendencies as well as those who are actively involved in sexualisation of our young people.”
They warned Kenyans to “shun from electing such persons in public offices” highlighting that “It is paramount that our choice of leaders focusses on those who have social concern, are pro-life and will serve in the interest of the dignity and respect of our national values and have demonstrated to be leaders of integrity.”
For citizens to realize successful election of the right people, the bishops suggested careful assessment of aspirants highlighting that “Kenyans should purpose to vote for persons who have high moral standards and clear visionary plans of action,” they should “Refuse to be incited to engage in violence or any other acts of lawlessness before, during and after elections,” and each citizen need to, “Verify voter registration details through the available means put in place by IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission) and come out to vote.”
As a Church, the bishops during the Friday pressor led by the chairman of the Conference Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde promised to be committed actors “in ensuring a peaceful and credible electioneering process by way of prayer and civic education across the country through Catholic Justice and Peace Departments,” and called upon other people of good will to join them in supporting the cause for peace ahead of the August General Elections.
According to the prelates, the IEBC team should gain the trust of Kenyans by indicating their preparedness as “all persons and institutions charged with responsibilities that touch on elections including IEBC, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP), the police, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), political parties and the candidates, be well prepared, transparent and act within the law.”
Additionally, these institutions should “deal firmly with candidates who are engaging in voter bribery, inciting the people, spewing hate speech and conducting violent campaigns, including barring them from running for office in accordance with Chapter Six of the Constitution,” the bishops underscored pleading with leaders and voters to “ensure the forthcoming General Elections are violence free and issue based.”
In line with the Church leaders’ concerns, they called upon all actors to handle electoral and judicial institutions “honorably, with integrity and honesty, dispensing true justice, and avoid bringing them into disrepute.”
Even as Church leaders encourage choosing candidates guided by African values they are concerned on how political parties conducted their primaries.
“There were numerous claims of voter bribery, intimidation of voters and candidates, pre-marked ballot papers in favour of some candidates, late arrival of electoral materials, missing names in the party registers and rowdy crowds witnessed in some polling centers protesting that their preferred candidates had been short-changed,” they highlighted their concerns adding that “In some areas, ballot papers were burned by angry supporters delaying the nomination exercise for hours,” hence all these “are shadows of the way corruption can play out in the General Elections.”
They therefore cautioned on the political trends already being observed warning that “unless drastic measures are taken and a new electoral strategy that controls the conduct and behavior of politicians and the electorate is enforced, there is real danger of the country descending into chaos and violence in the run-up to the 2022 General Elections.”
“We continue to call on all political leaders to conduct themselves with civility and avoid engaging in any acts of electoral fraud,” the bishops said on Friday, urging “all contestants to show mutual respect, exercise restraint and avoid insults and inflammatory statements that could stir ethnic hatred and violence.”
They also reminded leaders that “political competition should never stoke ethnic hatred or grant political opponents opportunity to settle scores through violent confrontations and threats.”
They warned Kenyans “not burn the country because of electoral competition,” but the leaders to realize that “elections come and go but our Nation will remain long after all of us are gone,” as they conclude that political candidates should accept election results once they are out and be ready to accept the results or seek redress in courts in case of doubts.
