A Kakamega religious consortium has asked politicians to campaign peacefully and respect all election laws.
The consortium include the National Council of Churches in Kenya, Kenya, Conference of Catholic Bishops and Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims.
The clergy had converged at a hotel in Kakamega to meet aspirants for various positions within the county on Wednesday to hand them a peace charter and manifesto to sign as a commitment to upholding peace.
“We present a manifesto of the intentions of the residents of Kakamega county to demand certain issues under four pillars: social, economical, political and environmental,” Rev Oscar Egesa from the Anglican Development Services said.
The Western region NCCK chairman Rev George Magomere said the clergy had their demands presented to the political class which should be adhered to, if not they will lose the vote.
He also said the manifesto was developed by the USAID 'Mulika Initiative' to build the capacity of Kenyan citizens, particularly the youth, to set the agenda for issue-based campaigns and resist political incitement and elite manipulation.
The clergy however decried the low turnout of aspirants to the meeting, saying it was unfair for them to miss hearing the aspirations of the residents of Kakamega.
Those who attended include Kakamega woman representative aspirant Lydia Inyangala, two representatives for the governor aspirants Cleophas Malala and Fernandes Barasa and two MCA aspirants.
The clergy however said they will not give up on their quest to ensure that the country remains peaceful during and even after the campaigns.
They asked the government, through the security organs and the IEBC, to also ensure the election laws are upheld.
“We will also be looking into this right from now, during the process of election on the voting day and even after. We do not want our country to be affected by violence,” Magomere said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
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