The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has urged President William Ruto to initiate dialogues with various stakeholders to neutralise the accelerating political tension in the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, June 24, KCCB noted that the government should be more accommodating of views from the youths, other non-state actors, and faith leaders to identify the dents, which are causing uproar among the youths, and how they can collaborate to ensure that lasting solutions are engineered.
The bishops have asserted that taking a collective effort to solve various issues affecting the country will play a vital role in restoring decency and respect in the country's democracy.
"The political opponents must learn mature dialogue, Government must listen and sit with other non-state actors and the faith leaders; the youth must be ready to sit and be listened to as they listen to other views; wrong must be called wrong and apologies and restitutions discussed; and the Government must use its set institutions to consult and study issues," KCCB stated.
Furthermore, the bishops have stressed that the government and law enforcement agencies should uphold the rule of law, especially when Kenyans are expressing themselves during protests, rather than "threatening them with death."
The Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC) should pull up their socks and fast-track their investigations into the recurrent cases of abductions, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings, according to KCCB.
"Security officers are sworn to protect, not to harm. When those charged with upholding law and order become the source of fear and injustice, it signals a moral crisis in the State. These incidents are not isolated," the bishops said.
"They follow a disturbing pattern that threatens our national commitment to the Constitution and human rights. The Life of every Kenyan matters. Kenya must stop at a loss of life and not "just move on," it added.
On the other hand, KCCB has taken a swipe at political figures whom they claim have fabricated a habit of gathering around mourners, who have lost their loved ones in a demonstration, only to project their political agendas rather than offering substantial help or solutions to them.
The bishops have spotlighted that despite political affiliations, politicians should be at the forefront to advocate for solidarity and peace rather than dispensing insulting, dismissive, arrogant statements, which they note are derailing the country's healthy political ambitions.
"These tragedies, on the other hand, should not be exploited by political operators to gain mileage, gathering around mourners or victims only to deliver personal advertisements while offering no relief solutions," KCCB said.
The Youths have planned to hold protests on June 25, in Nairobi and other parts of the country in honour of those who lost their lives in last year's 'Occupy Parliament' protests.
