• 'Mombasa and Narok (rallies) have been the epitome and a litmus test of how to destroy the fabric of a nation.'
• ACK head says a referendum was likely to divide the country.
The Building Bridges Initiative has been hijacked by politicians and should, therefore, be suspended until after 2023, ACK Kapsabet Diocese Bishop Reverend Paul Korir has said.
Korir said the whole process is now meant to benefit a few individuals and not wananchi.
He said suspending the BBI process until 2023 will avoid "potentially serious political division and civil strife in the country."
The Anglican Churches of Kenya head said a referendum was likely to divide the country. “Now, if the country is divided, what will BBI have achieved?" the cleric said.
He spoke in Kapsabet town when he received documents for the ACK plaza plot from Governor Stephen Sang.
He said there were indicators in the country of what to expect adding that the President should be fully briefed.
“We are not ready for another bloodshed in our country and I’m making an appeal to the foreign missions in Kenya to advise our leaders on how to unite the nation."
The prelate said the country has been made to believe that BBI rallies were aimed at popularising the initiative "but in reality, they have been a platform for polarising Kenyans".
“Mombasa and Narok have been the epitome and a litmus test of how to destroy the fabric of a nation,” Korir said.
He said the government was experiencing difficulties in disbursing development funds to devolved units due to dwindling revenue.
“How then do we get money to fund BBI rallies being run by one wing of the political class? We must be serious.”
He added, “I’m making a personal appeal to the National Treasury to consider paying pending bills directly from Central Bank and deduct the same from the affected counties."
He appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to heed the call from the church and help hold the country together.
The cleric said most economic and political challenges in the country are self-made adding that they can be corrected through the already set plans.
“The fight against corruption must be won and not tailored and engineered against anybody because the pertinent challenges facing the nation started immediately after Independence."
Edited by R.Wamochie