The National Council of Churches of Kenya has urged Jubilee and NASA leaders to embrace dialogue to end the political impasse in the nation. Addressing the press on the state of the nation, NCCK Secretary General Rev. Canon Peter Karanja said last year’s elections have had a far-reaching effect, “Presidential elections held in 2017 left the country sharply divided, complete with two centres of power and influence,” he said. He added that there is a clear superiority struggle and popularity contest between Jubilee and NASA, “This must come to an end if the country is to move forward. We urge that there must be consultations among all stakeholders to agree how closure can be found so that we don’t go to the 2022 elections under the same conditions,” said Karanja.
The NCCK boss reiterated that other posts should be created to cater for those who lost in the elections, a fact the Council had already laid out earlier. As an advice to Kenyans, he said peaceful coexistence shouldn’t be sacrificed for political gain, “Kenyans must refuse to cede their imperative for co-existence to political deals made by their leaders which are often selfish and built on quicksand,” he said.
Moreover, he condemned the tactics employed by the government recently in its crackdown on opposition leaders, terming them as “strong arm tactics.” However, he also faulted the opposition’s insistence on exhausting available ways to attain their goal, “The opposition appears hell-bent on stretching provisions of the Constitution and the law to the limit,” said the NCCK Secretary-General. The Council’s stand comes after a dramatic week, where NRM General Miguna Miguna was deported to Canada, after he was kept in police custody for more than three days, amidst protests in different parts of the nation. The incident marked another milestone in the tussle between the government and opposition outfit NASA.