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Church leaders differ on post-poll violence

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Published on Sunday, 27 January 2008 06:17

The debate on whether the violence that erupted in the country after last year’s General Election was pre-arranged or not has drawn mixed reactions from the clergy. 

The Rev Peter Bisem (centre) of the Reformed Churches of East Africa and the Rev Maritim Rirei (left) of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Eldoret Diocese, the Rev Kibet arap Maswai of the African Inland Church and other churchmen address the press at a hotel in Eldoret on Saturday. 
Forty Catholic priests drawn from eight districts of Gusiiland said the violence was pre-arranged, claims that were denied by their counterparts from the North Rift. 

The clerics in Kisii said information from victims indicated the violence was organised well ahead of the elections.

“We have shocking revelations from those displaced indicating that long before elections, they had received verbal threats to move out or face consequences,”  said Kisii Catholic Diocese Vicar General Joseph Obanyi who read a statement on behalf of his colleagues at St Vincent Centre yesterday.

The priests also criticised the government for failing to guarantee the security of Kenyans. 

But while denying these allegations, clerics from Rift Valley said the violence was mainly sparked off by the disputed presidential election results.

“If the violence was pre-planned in Rift Valley, how about that in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and other towns outside the province. 

Was it planned by leaders from the area?” asked their spokesman Dr Simeon Kipyego.

Speaking at Hotel Sirikwa minutes after similar denials by professionals from the region, the clergymen called for the resignation of ECK commissioners.   

They said the dispute over the poll results could only be resolved through an election re-run.

“The country is more divided than ever before and the only way to solve this problem is for various leaders including those in the church, ECK and the police to own up that they failed the country and a re-run held,” they said in their statement.

In Nairobi, bishops and pastors of 20 evangelical churches  asked the government to firmly enforce the law and stop the continuing ethnic-based violence.

The church leaders said local and international mediation efforts already in place were welcome but the government must stop the killings.