The National Council of Churches in Kenya - NCCK has written a letter to the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, SUPKEM, protesting its active involvement in the upcoming August elections.
NCCK now says that it will terminate the Mulika Initiative contract with SUPKEM citing the open endorsement of Azimio One Kenya Coalition’s running mate, Martha Karua.
According to the churches' umbrella body, SUPKEM has contravened the agreed policy of noninterference and non-partisanship in electoral matters in discharging their mandate as electoral observers.
“We regret to inform you that we are terminating the contract with yourselves prematurely with immediate effect, '' read an excerpt of the letter.
The Mulika Initiative is a faith-based program aimed at enhancing accountability and transparency in the forthcoming elections. The initiative brings together members of the clergy drawn from different denominations as well as the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
Key in their mandate is to promote unity and cohesion throughout the electioneering period through sensitization based on faith-based groups.
The council of churches has further called upon the USAID and the United States government, the sponsors of this initiative, to ensure impartiality as the country gears up for a general election.
The protest letter comes after a meeting between Azimio presidential running mate Martha Karua and SUPKEM that was held on June 22. The forum brought together Muslim leaders who praised Karua for her role in championing social justice.
SUPKEM has, however, refuted the claims accusing NCCK of mischief and being deceitful. According to the council of Muslim leadership, SUPKEM does not take sides in political affairs but it is obliged to encourage the Muslim community to take part in political processes.
“SUPKEM, constitutionally, cannot take sides in political discourses in this country but it has a serious interest in the governance of this country. We do not shepherd our community in one direction, but we encourage the community to actively engage in political discourses,” stated Hassan Ole Naado, chairman of SUPKEM.
The church, on its part, has continued to play its part in civic education and promoting peaceful coexistence among its members. Concerted efforts including social media sensitization have been launched to enlighten members of the public on election matters.
Martha Karua has been active in activism and championing human rights since the late nineties during the war of the second liberation. The most recent participation in activism is her role in challenging the proposed constitutional amendments proposal dubbed the Building Bridges Initiative - BBI.
Karua was part of the Linda Katiba Institute that took part in the litigation that led to the annulment of the amendments.
