NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 12 – Interfaith Council Chairman Archbishop Anthony Muheria has urged politicians to desist from holding rallies both in public and places of worship in the wake of increased COVID-19 infections in the country.
Muheria said that with the government striving to have the population gain herd immunity through vaccination, the political rallies were exposing people to more risk.
“Our politicians are still congregating people in impromptu rallies with most of their supporters not wearing masks. This highly puts them at risk. The vaccine does not mean you cannot get Covid 19, and one is not guaranteed that upon contracting the virus, it will not be serious,” said Muheria.
Kenya has recorded a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in recent weeks as the country experiences the fourth wave mainly fuelled by the Delta variant.
The country had recorded 243,456 infections and 4,902 fatalities by September 11. More than 3 million people had been vaccinated with plans to vaccinate at least 10 million people by December.
He appealed to politicians to respect places of worship and avoid taking the campaigns there.
“They are demanding to have political rallies in places of worship. The Catholic Church has been very clear that we will not allow politicians to speak in our churches, but they are welcome to be part of the fellowship,” he said.
Muheria further appealed to politicians to look into modern means of campaigning adapted in the west, so as to avoid a surge in Covid 19 infections in the country.
“They can strive to adapt to the use of more modern means of campaigning i.e. media, TV, Radios like they did in the United States of America, for the love of the nation and the people that they hope to lead,” Muheria stated.
Top political leaders, including Deputy President William Ruto, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and others eying the presidency in 2022 have been holding political rallies and town hall meetings across the country despite a ban by the Ministry of Health.
