Religious leaders in Trans Nzoia County affiliated to the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) have asked Kenyan leaders to shelve politics and instead focus on addressing challenges currently affecting millions of Kenyans.
The clergymen, operating under Trans Nzoia County Dialogue Reference Group (CDRG), have castigated a section of politicians over what they termed as keeping the country in campaign mood barely three months after the General Election.
They were speaking at a delegates’ conference, chaired by Bishop Josephat Kimani, which was convened at Bishop Muge Conference Centre in Kitale town on Monday.
Bishop Kimani said it was time the new government settled down and focused on pushing the country’s economic development agenda, through implementation of its pre-election manifesto.
“It is regrettable that a section of politicians, both within the ruling and opposition sides, want to deliberately derail and waste time for development fighting each other over selfish motives,” remarked Kimani.
The Monday conference’s objective was to review the role of the Church in the August 9, General Elections.
Speaking at the event, Inter Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK) Trans Nzoia Chairman, Bishop Raymond Mutama, urged religious leaders to continuously sensitize members of public on the importance of upholding peace and electing leaders of high levels of integrity for the sake of the country’s economic growth and development.
Mutama appealed to government officers to refrain from participating and taking sides in politics, especially during electioneering seasons, blaming the behaviour for negatively affecting public service delivery.
NCCK Trans Nzoia chairperson, Reverend Aggrey Olumula, urged the Church in Kenya to help President William Ruto’s administration achieve its development goals by speaking in one voice, especially on economic, social and political issues.
The church, Olumula noted, should remain impartial and in fact devise viable methods of providing poll losers in elections with psycho- social support.
He assured Kenyans that religious leaders would tirelessly work closely with political stakeholders to ensure the country was united.
