The Catholic Church on Sunday warned against attempts to sweep the recommendations of the Waki report under the carpet.Catholic bishop John Cardinal Njue said it would be a sign of worse to come if those implicated were not prosecuted.
“We have taken our stand and would like to see measures to have it implemented put in place,” he said.
Oppose attempts
Speaking at an ordination ceremony at the Saint Peters seminary in Kakamega, Cardinal Njue said Kenyans would not accept attempts to trash the report.
Kakamega Bishop Phillip Sulumeti read a pastoral letter outlining the Catholic bishops’ stand.
He said reconciliation could only be achieved if Kenyans knew the truth.
“We are appealing to Christians to move resolutely towards reconciliation and help heal the ethic divisions,” he said.
And PNU secretary general George Nyamweya, said his party would oppose attempts to establish a local tribunal to try the alleged perpetrators.
He said the suspects should face the International Criminal Court.
He said it was ironical that some ODM leaders who had expressed lack of confidence in the local judiciary had changed their tune and were now happy for the same judiciary to try the suspects.
“It beats logic that this was the same party that refused to petition the election of President Kibaki in our courts but now wants a local tribunal,” he said.
“We are saying that the more than 1,300 people who died need justice,” he added.
Mr Nyamweya also sprang to Electoral Commission of Kenya’s defence.
“We acknowledge that ECK needs reforms but we cannot dismiss the commissioners without a proper framework.”
He said that reforms could only take place while the commissioners were in office so that they get a fair hearing.
Mr Nyamweya also backed recommendations by the Justice Johann Kriegler report that constituency boundaries be re-drawn.
And Lands minister James Orengo said that a middle ground had been struck by ODM on the Waki report.
“The question is not whether or not the recommendations will be implemented but how this will be done,” he said.
Mr Orengo said there had been misunderstanding in ODM over the report but that had been clarified.
“At the end of the day, we need to be conscious that the Waki report is not cast in stone,” he said.
The minister was speaking at Langa Primary School after the distribution of relief food to over 600 families who were recently displaced by floods.
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(Source: DNK)