They say the gold mining region of Tibesti “stands out for its numerous cases of inhuman torture and killings”, and that in the Southern part of the country, many people are kidnapped for ransom, and homes and farms are set ablaze on daily basis.
“The destruction of all possibilities for formal and informal economic activity, the slowdown or even stoppage of essential service sectors and youth unemployment are plunging the entire country into a situation of widespread impoverishment,” CET members say.
“Shortages of all kinds are weakening our people and killing them slowly,” they further decry, adding, “Shortage of petroleum products and its consequences on all sectors of the lives of individuals and institutions are simply incomprehensible for an oil-producing country.”
They say the economic hardships and rampant insecurity “are indicative of a way of governing and currents of thought that must change if we are not to give our country a bad name.”
“These situations, whether created voluntarily or through ignorance, are challenges that must challenge us all, but first and foremost those in power, whose sole aim is to guarantee the security and well-being of their people,” say the Catholic Bishops.
To help the situation, they say, “let us strive to practice justice and the law, and to seek peace, security, and well-being for all, refusing to compromise ourselves in practices that are commonplace in our country: nepotism, corruption, and all forms of exclusion.”
“Our country has suffered too much from practices that are destructive to fabric and social relations. The time has come for us to realize that God will sooner or later do justice to the poor, and restore their scorned dignity,” CET members say.
They express optimism, saying, “The victory of life over death that we have just celebrated at Easter gives us assurance of this. It is the victory of good over evil, of light over darkness, of liberation from all domination.”
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.
