Campaign time is over, NCCK warn politicians

Religious leaders affiliated to the National Council of Churches of Kenya ( NCCK ) in Trans Nzoia have cautioned top political formations against putting Kenya in a campaign mood less than six months after the last elections.

The church leaders operating under the auspices of the Trans Nzoia County Dialogue Reference Group ( CDRG ) said it is unfortunate that politicians drawn from President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza and Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja are still engaging themselves in campaigns as if the Country was going into another election.

They said the leaders should instead deliberate on pertinent issues affecting the people of Kenya and come up with recommendations that will forever change the destiny of the Country.

“They are putting Kenyans in an election mood to the detriment of development. Politicking must stop if the country is to develop,” said Bishop Josephat Kimani.

Bishop Kimani led delegates drawn from religious groups and representatives of the Dialogue Reference Group in Trans Nzoia in a meeting at the Bishop Muge Conference Centre Tuesday .

The conference had been called to take stock of the August 9 elections described as the most peaceful since the Country attained its independence in 1963.

‘’The CDRG will not rest but let every Kenyan learn from the lessons of the past election so that future elections in this country will be carried out with enhanced credibility and transparency’’, he said.

The Inter Religious Council of Kenya ( IRCK ) Trans Nzoia Chairman Bishop Raymond Mutama called upon church leaders to take lead in sensitizing community members on the need to maintain peace during and after every electioneering exercise .

Political foundations, he said, shouldn’t be built on tribalism.

He further warned government officials to desist from taking part in active politics since it will compromise their neutrality.

The National Council of Churches of Kenya ( NCCK ) Trans Nzoia chairman Reverend Aggrey Olumola asked the Church in Kenya to speak in one Voice.

He also challenged the Country’s electoral agency IEBC to desist from using tents during the forthcoming elections in Bungoma, Garissa Town , Kandara and Elgeyo Marakwet .

The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops ( KCCB) representative Edward Shibanda also asked the Independent electoral and Boundaries commission ( IEBC ) to come up with mechanisms that will help curb misinformation in social media.

The church, he noted, should continue being neutral and devise methods of providing losers in elections with psycho- social support.

He said religious leaders will continue partnering with other key stakeholders in having dialogue as a way of charting the course of making the country a heaven in the sea of turmoil.

The church leaders further bound themselves to use the County Dialogue Conference with integrity and sound thought for their collective wellbeing as representatives of diverse communities and interest groups.