Catholic Bishops have called for dialogue between President William Ruto and opposition leader, Raila Odinga, in a bid to avert a looming crisis.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, the Bishops, led by Anthony Muheria, pleaded with President Ruto to keep his promise of sitting down and holding talks with his political rival to iron out issues.
At the same time, they urged Mr Odinga to accept dialogue as a means of resolving the current standoff.
Both leaders, who faced off in the last General Election, have remained steadfast, with Raila calling for bi-weekly protests to address a slew of issues ranging from high living costs to taxation and electoral fraud.
According to the Bishops, however, neither chest-thumping nor blame-shifting will solve the mess Kenya finds itself in.
“We plead and ask Ruto to follow through with his promise to sit with and listen to Raila and come out with reasonable proposals to address the high cost of living that needs urgent attention. We ask Raila to accept dialogue for the good of our country,” the Bishops said.
“Dialogue can resolve this dangerous standoff. Need to get a common ground to restore sanity,”
During the briefing, the Bishops stated that, while Kenya is dealing with a variety of issues, including unemployment, high taxation, and a ballooning public debt, demonstrations will only exacerbate the situation.
According to the Bishops, Kenyans are frustrated by a myriad of problems and there is a need for those in authority to offer peaceful solutions that ensure peace in the country.
“It is not opportune to have demonstrations since such actions will not solve the problem or grievances cited,” Bishop Muheria said.
“The fact that it is legal to demonstrate should not make it a vehicle to paralyze the Country, nor degenerate to a forceful take over of a legitimate Government! We must allow ourselves to be guided by the law and not our own individual perspectives,”
The latest comes just one day after Raila announced that the ongoing anti-regime protests would be held twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.
Addressing the media on Tuesday at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation in Nairobi, Odinga described the Monday protests in Nairobi and other parts of the country as “immensely successful”, insisting that he would not bow down until President William Ruto heeds to their demands.
