“All of us Kenyans should decide that we need peaceful elections": Catholic Bishop

In his message to the local media August 5, the Local Ordinary of Eldoret Diocese who started his Episcopal Ministry in Kenya’s Lodwar Diocese in May 2010 as Auxiliary Bishops emphasized the need to maintain peace, saying, “Violence in the country will affect everybody.”

“Sometimes, we think that the instability will not affect us, that we are very safe. However, violence will affect the country’s economy; there will be confusion. It is everyone’s obligation to ensure that peace reigns in the country,” said the Bishop who has been at the helm of Eldoret Diocese since February 2020. 

He added, “I really ask us to maintain peace. Many people are watching us and when we maintain our peace, we will send good signals that we are a peace-loving nation and that is what we want.”

Bishop Kimengich also cautioned politicians against spreading insightful messages, and urged political candidates to “speak and preach peace”.

“Sometimes they speak in ways that are not pleasing,” he said in reference to political leaders in Kenya, and added, “All of them starting from the President and His Deputy must speak in a manner that unites us.”

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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.