Nairobi, 20 April, 2023 / 9:53 pm (ACI Africa).
Catholic Bishops in Kenya have expressed their concern about the political situation in the country.
In their Friday, April 20 statement shared with ACI Africa, members of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) say they “are very much disturbed” by the seeming lack of progress in the choice of talks that President William Samoei Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga agreed to undertake earlier this month to end weekly anti-government protests.
On April 2, the leader of the Azimio One Kenya Coalition said he had acknowledged and accepted “the olive branch” for bi-partisan parliamentary talks that President Ruto had offered, calling off the weekly anti-government demonstrations that he had declared would be taking place on Monday and Thursday aimed at forcing President Ruto to lower the cost of living among other demands.
Recent reports have indicated a “standoff” between the Kenyan government and the main opposition coalition, some national media reporting that the bipartisan are “on the brink of collapse” due to the hardline stand that parties in dialogue are taking, and others featuring opposition leaders threatening to resume weekly anti-government protests.
“We are very much disturbed by the apparent standoff which could easily lead to hardened positions and delay the urgently needed process of dialogue,” KCCB members say in the statement that their Chairman, Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde of Mombasa Archdiocese read out on April 20.