The
Catholic Bishops of Kenya have once more appealed to both Government and
opposition political parties to urgently embrace dialogue for the good
of the country.The call comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the Election Amendment Act of 2016 in spite of strong objection from the opposition and civil society.
In a press statement signed by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Chairman, Philip Anyolo, together with other Kenyan Bishops, the prelates believe that there is still room for Kenyans to dialogue.
The Bishops expressed their readiness to mediate and facilitate the process of dialogue in conjunction with other religious leaders and people of good will.
“We wish to make a passionate appeal, for sobriety, to give dialogue a chance in order to reach consensus and a harmonious resolution that embraces divergent views of all Kenyans,” the statement read in part.
The Bishops appealed to all stakeholders to do everything possible to ensure peaceful and credible forthcoming 2017 elections that would also guarantee that processes are fair, inclusive and transparent.
They further reiterated that many socio-political problems the country faces could be resolved mutually through continuous engagement in meaningful dialogue.
“We sincerely believe that demonstrations and mass action should give way to this process of dialogue. While it is constitutional to picket, and demonstrate, we know that in the process lives are lost, people injured and property destroyed,” the Bishops write.