“Greatly honored” to Have Served: Kenya’s Interfaith Council as COVID-19-mandate Ends

They add, “Great appreciation and praise goes to the entire team of the Interfaith Council which, with great focus and dedication, guided the Nation spiritually during this period. We thank you most sincerely for your dedication at every stage of this work. May God bless you and reward your efforts.”

The Interfaith Council brought together 15 faith leaders representing the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM), the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) among other religious entities in the country. 

The team whose tenure was extended after it expired in December 2020 worked in collaboration with Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government, Dr. Fred Matiang’i and his counterpart in the Ministry of Health, Mutahi Kagwe.

In their October 18 statement, the religious leaders thank the former President for the appointment and the Cabinet Secretaries for their support. 

They say the sacrifices manifested during the coronavirus time were testimonies of “the depth of Faith in God in Kenyans.”

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The Religious leaders say the COVID-19 threat has come down and announce the lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions on public worship.

“We can now resume all our worship arrangements, returning to the normal arrangements for each Faith Tradition,” they say.

The interfaith Council members recommend the continued use masks, especially for the vulnerable in society, saying, “It remains advisable, especially for the elderly and the sick, to continue using masks. Each Worship Center may determine how to regulate the use of masks or hand-washing going forward, though this will remain optional.”

They encourage Kenyans “to uphold and enhance the solidarity with each other, that we have learnt during this pandemic,” and add, “The wellbeing of our brothers and sisters depend on us, and vice versa.”

“We thank God who has held us throughout this difficult period, for his protection and mercy. We pray that, through his mercy, we may never again experience a pandemic of this caliber,” the members of the Interfaith Council in Kenya say in their October 18 statement shared with ACI Africa.