Catholic bishops have urged Kenyans to use the August 9 polls to achieve the vision of the Kenya we want.
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops said the 'Kenya We Desire' should be defined by public ethics, rule of law, unity and environmental conservation.
Kitui Catholic Bishop Joseph Mwongela read the KCCB statement on Monday.
“We must transcend the electioneering hype and pay attention to the spirit behind why we elect leaders in the first place,” the statement said.
The bishops said if Kenyans should pick leaders who will guide Kenya towards that end.
The statement was initially read out by Bishop Mwongela to congregants during the Sunday mass at the Ikanga Catholic Church, in line with the bishops’ weekly pastoral care for Kenya ahead of polls.
“We hope for a Kenya where right is right, and wrong is wrong; a Kenya where good is rewarded and celebrated and evil condemned and punished,” the bishops said.
They said it should be a Kenya that upholds public ethics where positions and funds are exclusively for the service of the Kenyans and not for personal gains.
“We look forward to a country where corrupt practices do not exist; a country where we can access public or civil services without favouritism or need for bribery,” the statement read.
The bishops further said they aspire for a God-fearing country where perpetuators of evil and criminals are not glorified but evil is condemned and sanctions facilitated through the laid down systems.
"Our greatest enemy is corruption. Our values should always reflect resistance to a culture of corruption in all its forms. Corruption is a cancer that eats the soul of our country,” the men of the cloth said.
The bishops said they aspire for a country where the rule of law is paramount with every Kenyan being treated equally by the law, and where the weakest find equal recourse to their rights.
“We look forward to a country where there is no impunity, and where the powerful and wealthy do not escape so easily from crimes and injustices,” they said.
