The clergy has called upon the government to resettle all displaced persons equitably to avoid stoking ethnic tensions ahead of the coming polls.
Speaking in Nakuru NCCK South Rift Branch Chairman Rt. Rev. Jackson ole Sapit revealed that the church is willing to be involved in these resettlement processes to ensure that all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are resettled ahead of the next polls.
Rt. Rev Ole Sapit noted that integrated IDPs and those flushed from government forests are living in squalid conditions and urged the government to factor them in the resettlement exercise.
He revealed that the delay in the resettlement exercise is a tactic either of powerful power barons who would use the IDPs’ plight as a campaign tool to ascend to power.
Similarly, the clergy noted with concern that some reports reaching them revealed a section of the political class inciting tribal animosities as a way of mobilizing support ahead of the polls.
Rt. Rev. Ole Sapit called on the police to and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to take decisive action to avoid a recurrence of the bloody skirmishes of 2007/2008.
The clergy called on all Kenyans to reject any contestant who evokes emotions that would stir hatred and violence amongst them.
Rt. Rev Ole Sapit called on the government and other agencies to provide extensive civic education aimed at preparing Kenyans for the elections.
Commenting on security, the clergy condemned police complacency and even involvement in facilitating rising levels of crime in pastoral areas.
Rt. Rev Ole Sapit called upon the government to revamp security machinery in the affected regions by taking stern measures against security personnel involved in the vice.
On the same score, the clergy urged community leaders to aggressively develop programmes for economic empowerment of the residents targeting the youth who engage in cattle rustling.
Commenting on the rising border clashes, the clergy appealed to the provincial administration to intervene in resolving the boundary disputes for the districts and counties.
Rt. Rev Ole Sapit noted that the onus of defining boundaries of administrative and elective units rests on the government and not the local residents.
The clergy however appealed to the warring communities over boundary demarcations to channel their grievances using the laid down structures of government to resolve the impasse.
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