NCCK Western Regional Chapter officials addressing the media. [PHOTO|John Kabaka|West Fm]

The church wants the judiciary and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to play a pivotal role in ensuring that only leaders who meet the minimum threshold on integrity and leadership are cleared to run for elective positions in the next polls.

The Western regional Chapter of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) said the police and judiciary was responsible for past episodes of election violence and said the IEBC, Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) as well as the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) should jointly enforce the tenets of Chapter six of the Constitution.

The bi-annual meeting held at the Bishop Nicholas Stam Pastoral and Animation centre-Shimalabandu in Kakamega was attended by estimated one hundred representatives from across the four counties in Western Province. The Western chapter is headed and chaired by Rev. Lucas Mudoga.

Addressing the media, Mudoga said the caucus was concerned by the ‘care free’ attitude by key politicians and government agencies in addressing factors that fuel the cycle of violence at every election in the country since 1988.

“This is more so as we find that should violence break out before, during or after the election next year, it will be of a scale and intensity to break up the nation irredeemably,” he observed.

NCCK, he said, was finalizing a blue print document for voter civic education. Mudoga said the church would carry out extensive civic education for the masses in churches for sixteen weeks centred on peace programs to ensure that the country was ready for free, fair and peaceful polls.

The church leaders also asked residents of Western region to scrutinize and elect persons that have the drive to spur development in the region.  They argued that political euphoria that has characterized successive polls in the area was responsible for the extreme poverty and misery of most residents.

The church declared war on political noisemakers saying the clergy would play a leading role in kicking out leaders considered to be non-performing but who seek to be re-elected.

The meeting also urged women to offer themselves for both appointive and elective position as provided for in the constitution.

The clergymen said the society must clear the old dogmas against women and allow them to compete for the positions [provided by the gender rule in the new law adding leadership in the political field offered great opportunity for believer to shine the light of Christ.