NAIROBI, Kenya – The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has issued a call to action, urging Kenyans to reject political misinformation and hold their leaders accountable for the nation’s challenges.
In a strongly worded statement signed by Chairman Rev. Dr. Elias Otieno Agola and General Secretary Rev. Canon Chris Kinyanjui, the council likened the country’s state to a critically ill patient, blaming the crisis on the public’s susceptibility to deceitful political narratives.
“The situation in our country is the direct result of our tendency, as the people of Kenya, to listen to and believe the narratives peddled by persons seeking to rise to or hold onto politics and leadership.
These narratives are often premised on lies and falsehoods,” read the statement.
The NCCK urged citizens to seek truth and verify political claims, emphasizing the danger of accepting information at face value.
The church leaders did not mince words in their critique of current Members of Parliament, accusing them of betraying their constitutional mandate.
“Instead of representing the people, they have become spanner boys carrying out the work of the Executive. Instead of oversighting the Executive, they are cheerleaders in oppressing the people,” the council stated.
The NCCK reminded voters of their constitutional right to recall underperforming MPs and called on citizens to initiate this process.
“As the electorate, you are the employer, not a servant, of the Members of Parliament and other elected leaders. The right of recall is the disciplinary measure availed to us by the Constitution,” said the council.
The NCCK also expressed alarm over delays in reconstituting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), warning that the government’s inaction threatens Kenya’s democracy.
“IEBC is the most crucial organ in the exercise of democracy in Kenya, for it is the body mandated to facilitate election and removal of leaders. The persistent refusal by the current political leadership to reconstitute the IEBC is a major insult to the people of Kenya and an attack on who we are as a nation,” the statement noted.
The council urged citizens to pressure leaders to expedite the IEBC’s reconstitution and demanded swift judicial resolution of related cases.
In its conclusion, the NCCK painted a stark picture of Kenya’s future if the current trajectory continues but offered hope through collective civic action.
“We encourage you, as the citizens of Kenya, not to give your elected leaders and their appointees peace until they heed the demand for urgent recruitment of IEBC Commissioners as provided for in the Constitution,” they urged.
In a strongly worded statement signed by Chairman Rev. Dr. Elias Otieno Agola and General Secretary Rev. Canon Chris Kinyanjui, the council likened the country’s state to a critically ill patient, blaming the crisis on the public’s susceptibility to deceitful political narratives.
“The situation in our country is the direct result of our tendency, as the people of Kenya, to listen to and believe the narratives peddled by persons seeking to rise to or hold onto politics and leadership.
These narratives are often premised on lies and falsehoods,” read the statement.
The NCCK urged citizens to seek truth and verify political claims, emphasizing the danger of accepting information at face value.
The church leaders did not mince words in their critique of current Members of Parliament, accusing them of betraying their constitutional mandate.
“Instead of representing the people, they have become spanner boys carrying out the work of the Executive. Instead of oversighting the Executive, they are cheerleaders in oppressing the people,” the council stated.
The NCCK reminded voters of their constitutional right to recall underperforming MPs and called on citizens to initiate this process.
“As the electorate, you are the employer, not a servant, of the Members of Parliament and other elected leaders. The right of recall is the disciplinary measure availed to us by the Constitution,” said the council.
The NCCK also expressed alarm over delays in reconstituting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), warning that the government’s inaction threatens Kenya’s democracy.
“IEBC is the most crucial organ in the exercise of democracy in Kenya, for it is the body mandated to facilitate election and removal of leaders. The persistent refusal by the current political leadership to reconstitute the IEBC is a major insult to the people of Kenya and an attack on who we are as a nation,” the statement noted.
The council urged citizens to pressure leaders to expedite the IEBC’s reconstitution and demanded swift judicial resolution of related cases.
In its conclusion, the NCCK painted a stark picture of Kenya’s future if the current trajectory continues but offered hope through collective civic action.
“We encourage you, as the citizens of Kenya, not to give your elected leaders and their appointees peace until they heed the demand for urgent recruitment of IEBC Commissioners as provided for in the Constitution,” they urged.
