KENYA: Religious Leaders Urge Political Leaders to Resolve Persistent Political Conflict
Sr. Henriette Anne FSSA
Religious leaders in Kenya under their National Dialogue Forum (NDF), urged the political leaders to embrace dialogue and end persistent political conflict.
In their Friday 21st statement signed by different religions including the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops and National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), and the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslim (SUPKEM), suggested that their dialogue should be structured around a specific framework.
“The dialogue we recommend should be based on a clearly defined framework that will create a platform for Kenyans to discuss the challenges facing their lives and find amicable solutions. The framework should provide for the engagement of all stakeholders and should be buttressed by religious institutions for sustainability. There must be a firm commitment that the outcomes of the process will be implemented to avoid a repeat of what has happened in the past”.
NDF members further say that the cycle of pre- and post-election crises witnessed over the decades is a reflection of the failure of political leaders to choose dialogue to address their disputes and agreements.
In their statement, they have called upon President Ruto and Hon Raila Odinga to “embrace dialogue and end the grandstanding that is pushing the country deeper into crisis” and establish a nation as stipulated in the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
The religious leaders also asked the government and the opposition to embark on bi-partisan talks which stopped stressing the agenda of reconstituting of Independence Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
“We appeal for a resumption of Bi-Partisan talks with a single agenda of facilitating the reconstituting of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). We aver that the country is currently in a very precarious position that can lead to an existential crisis should elections be required without a properly constituted commission in place”.
They continued, “having an amicable process for the recruitment of the Commissioners will restore political stability and enable the nation to bring the 2022 General Elections to closure”.
For more clarification, the religious leaders said, “We are not pushing for power sharing between government and the opposition, for these two political structures have distinct and cardinal roles outlined in the Constitution”.
They also condemned the use of excessive force and live bullets by police when containing the chaos during the demonstration and called upon the inspector general to guide the officer on legal and humane approaches.
In conclusion, the NDF members reminded all Kenyans that we are in a delicate situation that requires careful consideration of the action of each of us and exercise restraint in every situation so that we redeem our nation from the precipice.
