Politicians have been urged to maintain peace and exercise tolerance and to protect investments and attract new ones as the country prepares for the August 9 General Election.
Bishop Dr Mike Brawan of Metro Church International said a positive outcome will clear uncertainty over Kenya’s future, boost investor confidence and strengthen local currency and the stock market, giving the economy a fresh impetus to full recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr Brawan said the political class should spare the country bad behaviour ahead of the 2022 polls because the economy cannot afford another set of disruptions as the shocks of the covid-19 pandemic’s disruptions were still lingering.
Speaking in Nakuru after presiding over interdenominational prayers for peace in the country, the clergyman said it was time to permanently redefine the perennial situation where Kenya’s economy slows down during election years when firms put investment decisions on hold, pending a return to normalcy.
“Irresponsible political utterances and violence have proved to be counterproductive to business activities. They affect transport and logistics services of entrepreneurs and general revenue generation for the national government and counties. Electioneering should not be a messy affair if everyone played by the rules and stayed ethical in their campaigns,” said Bishop Brawan.
He advised politicians to remain alive to the fact that Kenya’s landlocked neighbours, who depend on it to import and export goods, were also watching the election carefully, as the country was their key transport corridor.
“It is the responsibility of every Kenyan to protect our national cargo movement business at the port of Mombasa as a preferred gateway to the sea for Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi. We do not want to lose our business to Tanzanian ports,” added the clergyman.
Bishop Brawan indicated that elections need not be a matter of life and death and should not bring about undue tension and fear in the country.
He also called on political leaders to pass the message of respect for national institutions and processes that are used for dealing with grievances around election outcomes.
“The laws in the country are robust enough to handle any grievances and they must be utilized rather than turning to insulting each other,” he said.
Bishop Brawan warned youths against being used to cause chaos, adding that the youth will bear the brunt of the chaos if they fall prey to individuals out to misuse them.
“Violence can never be part of the country’s political fabric. The blood you shed will be on your hands. You will not only lose your loved ones but also peace of mind. Kenyans and especially the youth should refuse to participate in mass actions, disruption of meetings or demonstrations before and during elections,” he pointed out.
He urged Kenyans not to allow the highly charged political environment to lead to chaos and asked the political class to desist from divisive politics, incitement and hate speech and instead preach peace as they sell their agenda to the electorate.
The Metro Church International head appealed to the politicians and Kenyans to carefully weigh their words and heedful of other people’s cultural and religious dynamics.
“We must always avoid insulting people. I call on all citizens to use words that are going to uplift someone. And let us be truthful and moderate in all we do. This is the right moment to demonstrate that we are religious and fear God.”
He emphasized the need for political tolerance as a way of promoting unity adding that all residents in Kenya regardless of different political affiliations needed the country after the election hence politics should not divide them.
While calling on leaders to take charge of their campaigns and tame violence Pastor Peace Angel urged politicians and their supporters to refrain from attacking their rivals and instead embrace brotherhood and sisterhood and “not allow Satan to divide us”.
“As we do our campaigns, let us be gentlemen. Let us also be watchful of our actions and what we say. All voters should seek God’s guidance as we make political choices,” she stated.
Pastor Angel stated that all Kenyans and politicians should remain alive to the fact that whoever will ascend to the highest office in the land will be President for all citizens.
“We must all calm down and embrace dialogue. We need a prosperous not a divided nation after elections. We need a team of leaders who will take Kenya to the next level. We will have a peaceful general election only when the political class approaches it with dialogue, decorum, and follows the rule of law,” she added.
