Time to shun toxic politics
The signs ahead of the official campaigns for the General Election set for August 10 next year are worrying. The clerics are already warning the rival politicians to shun their deadly competition and let the people freely and fairly choose their leaders when the time comes.
The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) is alarmed that the country risks sliding back into the kind of political violence that has rocked past elections. The worst was, of course, the 2007 post-election violence in which nearly 1,500 people were killed and 600,000 evicted from their homes and farms, especially in the Rift Valley.
ACK Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit is quite right that no political office is worth spilling the blood of innocent, law-abiding citizens.
The church has also condemned the rising taxation, corruption, the misuse of public resources, human rights violations, and public healthcare delivery challenges. The premature election campaigns and an increasingly toxic political atmosphere are a recipe for disaster. Particularly troubling is the increasing recruitment of unemployed youth as political goons.
Security agencies should act firmly against troublemakers and the masterminds by being impartial and upholding the law without fear or favour. The church has urged the Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to live up to its pledge to run a free, fair and credible election.
It has denounced corruption as “the nation’s deepest wound” through which public resources are diverted, denying the people essential services and opportunities.
While calling for fair policing, the church has also appealed to the IEBC to enhance its readiness for the elections as divisive political party mobilisation, youth recruitment and intimidation intensify.
Even as they compete for the elective mandates from the grassroots to the highest office in the land, the national presidency, the politicians should denounce incitement and embrace peace and stability.
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