Kenya's Inter-faith Council Relying on "wisdom of science" in Planning for Public Worship

The 15-member inter-faith council was established June 12, days after President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the Cabinet Secretaries for Interior and Coordination of National Government and Health to create it.  

The council also includes Bishop John Obala of the Diocese of Ngong and Bishop Joseph Obanyi of the Diocese of Kakamega, representatives of other religious entities including the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM), the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) among others.

Places of worship in Kenya have been closed since March after the government gave an order for closure as one of the measures to minimize the risk of spreading the Coronavirus. 

The East African nation has recorded at least 6,040 cases of COVID-19 including 141 deaths and 1,936 recoveries. 

In their June 27 statement, the Inter-faith Council members underscore the importance of adhering to safety rules provided by the Ministry of Health(MoH) saying, “We wish to reiterate one cardinal principle; the safe reopening of the places of worship will depend entirely on our compliance to the current MoH guidelines and those that this Council will present.” 

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If congregants “fully embrace the new normal to prevent the spread of new infections, this will make it much easier and accelerate the safe phased reopening of congregational worship,” they say.

The religious leaders add, “We invite the public to participate in this process by inviting feedback through sending a memorandum to the council through its email address interfaithcouncil@interior.go.ke to reach the Council by July 2, 2020.”

The mandate of the council shall expire December 31, 2020 but may be extended at the President’s discretion. 

Meanwhile, in an interview with local media, Archbishop Muheria said that challenges brought about by the pandemic have made people appreciate that God is in control.

“COVID-19 has taught us the spiritual sense of being in family, appreciating the family.  We have been too busy doing our businesses, sometimes not having time for our Families. These are good lessons for us,” Archbishop Muheria who is the Local Ordinary of Nyeri Archdiocese said on Kenya's Citizen television Saturday, June 27.

He added, “The hunger for God this time of the closure has made us yearn more for God. I am optimistic that it will be a resurgence of religion (and) spirituality ... I see the Church coming strongly, I see faith grouping resurrecting and flourishing tremendously."

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.