By AMECEA Online News Reporter
The Catholic Bishops of Kenya have called faction Political Parties Jubilee and NASA to urgently agree to IEBC’s invitation to dialogue, and chart the way forward with the aim of holding free, fair and credible Presidential Elections scheduled for 26th October, 2017.
In their statement issued on Tuesday, 26th September 2017 in Nairobi –Kenya and signed by the Chairman of the Conference , Rt Rev. Philip Anyolo, Bishop of Homa Bay, the Catholic Bishops stated that dialogue will pre-empt imminent conflict and violence that is being fanned and organized by both Jubilee and NASA politicians.
The Bishops called upon relevant agencies like DCI, DPP, EACC, the Police Service and the NCIC to take up their responsibilities and ensure the independence of Institutions, accountability of Institutions and the upholding of the rule of Law, justice and fairness.
The Catholic Bishops gave the statement after having witnessed the recent happenings and deeply concerned with the State of our Nation especially after the Supreme Court Ruling which nullified the 8th August, 2017 Presidential Elections.
“We need as a Country to have the ability to stand for what is right, defend the truth and speak against evil and what is wrong. Unless we all see the need for this, then our Institutions will just be there for purposes of consuming public funds and not adding value to the same people they are supposed to serve,” read the statement.
The Bishops said, “We have examined the current environment and have concluded that unless we embrace dialogue and reason together and agree on common national steps to stability and effective governance, the risk of plunging into full blown conflict and a collapsing economy is real, and should therefore be avoided at all costs. We must now act as watchmen as the Lord commanded prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:17-19),” read the statement adding “We call upon the President, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta to emerge as a symbol of national unity and offer the needed leadership at this point in time.”
“As we are all aware, IEBC is the main electoral management body in this electoral process. The Supreme Court also stated clearly that a fresh Presidential elections be managed by the IEBC. We appreciate the steps the IEBC is taking to make necessary changes to ensure the coming elections will be free, fair, peaceful and credible. There have been demands from both parts of the political divide on IEBC, that the IEBC is trying to address. We, the Catholic Bishops, are convinced that this proposed meeting for dialogue should be an opportunity to address the pending issues surrounding the elections,” read the statement.
The Bishops also called upon all Kenyans and people of good will to restrain themselves from engaging in violent demonstrations, name calling, hate speech and threats which can only heighten the tension around elections.