A day after leaders allied to President William Ruto came out guns blazing in swift rejoinders to a scathing attack by Catholic bishops, clerics from Pentecostal churches have defended the catholic priests condemning the government for widening the disconnect between it and ordinary Kenyans.
While calling out the government for hitting back at the bishops, the clergymen vowed not to be silenced in their quest to speak truth to leaders.
Led by Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya General Secretary Bishop David Thagana, the bishops, reverends, pastors and evangelists took issue with the government for abetting a culture of silencing people with dissenting opinions with intimidation, abduction and other forms of harassment.
They vowed to continue speaking the truth to those in power saying that they live with the ordinary Kenyans and thereby have first-hand experience and information on matters perturbing them.
Speaking during the ordination of bishop James Sasunga, the clerics also took issue with the government for profiling a section of bishops as tribalists saying that the heavy-handedness exhibited by the government in dealing with critics will only worsen the worsening disconnect between it and the citizenry.
They singled out issues of abductions, high cost of living, confusion in the healthcare transition among other challenges facing Kenyans and called on the government to heed to the masses’ voices.
Where we are now, the solution is to have a dialogue between the church and the government so that you listen to their voices. Why profile us as tribalists only when we lay the truth bare to you. The voices made by the catholic bishops are what the ground looks like and their statement painted the clearest picture of what is happening across the country,” said Thagana.
The warned leaders for abusing the church and hoodwinking them during every electioneering period saying they will never again be deceived.
Bishop Paul Ogutu of Glory Outreach Assembly from Nyanza region called on the government to address issues that Kenyans have continued to raise including clearing the air on the confusing healthcare transitions, dealing with university lecturers’ strike and working on the high cost of living.
They also urged the government to reconstitute the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) saying that in the current circumstance, Kenyans are denied a constitutional right to recall leaders they have no trust with.
