THE MULTISECTORAL NATIONAL CAMPAIGN PRESS BRIEFING
Posted | 2010-06-23
Author/Source | Yes Team and CMD-Kenya

THE MULTISECTORAL NATIONAL CAMPAIGN WEEKLY PRESS BRIEFING:

June 23, 2010
Our call on the clergy to let Christians vote with their conscience for the good of our nationhood

The Multi-sectoral National YES Campaign Committee holds these media briefings on a weekly basis targeting emerging issues towards a New Constitutional dispensation for Kenya. We have 42 days to the referendum. We are informed by our weekly intelligence briefs that the Kenyans are clearer of the blessings of a YES vote and the dire consequences of voting NO. We are confident hence the need to turn to the post referendum scenario.

This week; our focus is to call on the clergy to let Christians to vote guided by their conscience. As you are aware, we have formed 19 sectoral committees at the national level and multi-sectoral YES committees in all the 210 constituencies. This call is based on the overwhelming fear that has been expressed to us over the last five weeks while in the field mobilizing Kenyans to Vote YES. Kenyans have asked us to plead with church leaders to step back because their NO or YES position is harmful to our democracy and our nationhood. Christians do not want a showdown with their priests.

The Multi-Sectoral National YES campaign calls on John Cardinal Njue, …….(PCEA) Canon Peter Karanja, Archbishop Wabukhala, Bishop Kanyaru, Bishop Oginde, Bishop Mark Kariuki, Bishop Gaitho, Bishop Kosgey, all the other prelates in the various dioceses and churches to be courageous and free Christians to vote at the referendum with their conscience. This was the position the church took in the 2005 referendum. The Church leadership in our counsel ought to stay above the fray. They need to use the pulpit to minister to both the YES and NO supporters equally.

We have a real fear that we may lose the church after the referendum whichever way the referendum vote goes if the church leadership does not step back and rise above the fray. We are calling the church leaders to see the dangers that lie ahead for the nation because of the church leadership’s partisan positions. It is a fact that Christians shall vote for and against the Proposed Constitution.

The Politicians (the princes of yore) have taken the well beaten road of propagation for and opposition to the draft. This they have done will such zeal that the country now feels the palpable sense of deep division. Division that is less ideological than it is ethnic and regional. Division that, left unattended, will wrought disaster to the country.

The civil society together with all forms of civic organizations such as labour, professionals and professional bodies, the academia, community based organizations (the philosophers of yore) have taken the role of civic education. Attempting within their capacities, to enlighten citizens on the provisions in the proposed constitution so that their casting of the ballot is informed more by facts than by innuendo and bias.

The faith or church leaders (the priests of yore) have been engaged in active participation in the opposing sides of the debate. They have taken positions that are inimical to their primary role of being conciliators. They have shared the pulpit with the princes whose governance is being questioned. They have shared political opinion and choices that inherently compromise their capacity to mediate and be the beacons of hope and peace in a country that is too deeply divided by the dialogue and debate that is ongoing about the upcoming constitution. Consequently, the church has become enjoined in the purveying of falsehoods, hate speech, innuendo and propaganda that now characterizes both sides of the debate. Others still have purveyed extreme views; fear mongered and threatened their flock with dire personal consequences. Teachers in faith sponsored institutions have lost their jobs for holding views contrary to those of their benefactors - all these in the making of a new constitution. The church is unequally yoked and the leadership needs to unyoke the church of Christ from the temporal contests of this referendum.

The consequence of these factors is the gradual compromise of the prophetic and pastoral duties and role of the church which role cannot be adequately taken up by the princes or philosophers. The Church finds itself in the midst of bare knuckled contestation for political power that would ordinarily be the preserve of the Princes or politicians. They have adopted, applied and continue to apply methods of contestation of debate that are unworthy of their pillar of prophesy and pastoral guidance to all people whatever the position they may take regarding the constitution.

It is however, not too late for the clergy to pause and take stock of their role and more importantly mandate for humanity generally and the people of Kenya in particular. It is worthy and courageous of them to consider that the separation of state and religion that they so strongly argue for, actually calls upon them to directly abstain from the active bipartisanship so that they may actuate their position of moral and spiritual authority in watching over the country after the divisions of the campaigns become more apparent after August 4th 2010.

Through our Faiths outreach Council, we shall request meetings with these prelates in the coming days to share this call with them.

God bless Kenya!

Signed by:

1. Prof. Larry Gumbe, Chair CMD-Kenya

2. Mr. Peter Kariuki, Executive Director, Socio- Economic Rights Foundation,

3. Alice Wahome, Vice-Chair CMD-Kenya

4. Haron Ndubi, Executive Director, Haki Focus

5. Cyprian Nyamwamu, National Convention Executive Council,

6. Njeri Kabeberi, Executive Director, CMD-Kenya

7. Col. Benjamin Muema, Secretary General – New Ford Kenya

The Multi-sectoral National YES Campaign Committee is an inclusive Multi-sectoral committee which brings together all sectors of our nation including political parties, civil society organizations, religious sectors, and private sector and professional associations with the objective of promoting reform agenda in particular the Constitution review.