Nairobi, Kenya, Aug 17 – Religious leaders in the country have expressed concern over what they term as divisions within the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) following Monday’s declaration of final presidential results.
Speaking Wednesday in Nairobi, the religious leaders from nine different denominations warned that the division within the electoral agency threatens the country’s peace and stability.
To address the differences, the interdenominational community drawn from the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Council of Churches of Kenya, and Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims said they had commenced efforts to resolve the differences between the commissioners.
“We recognize the centrality of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in our political processes as enshrined in the constitution and the laws of Kenya. We have in this regard reached out to the Commissioners to pray and listen to them with a view of finding an amicable way forward,” they said in a joint statement read by Archbishop Martin Kivua and Supkem Chair Hassan Ole Naado.
Others include the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya, General Conference of Akorino Churches Assembly, Hindu Council of Kenya, Seventh Day Adventists, and Shia Athnaashari Jamaat.
The Statement by the religious leaders comes a day after four IEBC commissioners who distanced themselves from the presidential results maintained that the process was “opaque” and accused Wafula Chebukati of keeping them in the dark during the five-day exercise of verifying and tallying results at the Bomas of Kenya – the Commission’s national tallying center.
The four include IEBC Vice Chair Juliana Cherera, Commissioners Francis Wanderi, Irene Masit, and Justus Nyang’aya.
The religious leaders said that they had commenced the process of reaching out to the key political actors for the sake of the country’s peace and unity.
They pointed out that they had fellowshipped with President-Elect William Ruto, adding that they are in the process of meeting with the Azimio Presidential candidate Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“It is our hope and prayer that these engagements will promote justice, peace, and prosperity of Kenya,” they said.
They further said that the religious leaders and clergy across the country are available to provide counseling services to poll losers and Kenyans who might need the service.
“While we congratulate those who have been elected, we also realize that many others were not successful. We know that these brothers and sisters are in need of healing and spiritual nurture to enable them move to the next stage of life,” they added.
They further lauded Kenyans for peaceful conduct before, during and after the elections.
“Nonetheless, we mourn the Kenyans who are reported to have been killed during the process, including the IEBC Returning Officer. We have prayed for their families, and urge the security agencies to speed up investigations so that those responsible are held to account,”
The interdenominational leaders commended the security agencies and all other stakeholders for exercising restraint before, during and after the electioneering period.
They called on Kenyans and political leaders to be guided by the rule of law in handling election disputes and urged them not to be divided by the electoral process.
