Kericho County Dialogue Meeting on Peace and Cohesion towards the Church Preparation for the Referendum and 2022 General Elections

Safeguard Peace and Cohesion

Press Statement
Preamble
The NCCK Kericho County Coordinating Committee (CCC) in South Rift Region, has met
today May 6th, 2021 here at ACK GRACE CONFERENCE CENTRE, Kericho. We have met to
fellowship and reflect on issues affecting the residents of Kericho and Kenyans at large. We
pray for our County and the Nation to overcome the COVID-19 Pandemic. We pledge our
support to the government and urge all Kericho residents and all Kenyans to continue being
vigilant of COVID-19 and strictly adhere to the guidelines and protocols set by the Ministry of
Health to protect ourselves and other Kenyans from infection of the Corona virus.
The Church Leaders under NCCK in Kericho County have reflected in the Word of God in 2
nd
Timothy 1:1-8 and encourage all Kenyans that God has not given us the spirit of fear but the
spirit of love, power and self-control. Currently the country is living in times of immorality and
societal evils bedeviling us. This challenges all religious leaders to stand in the gap in saying
and walking the truth regardless of whether people will like it or not. We are encouraged from
the Scriptures in 2
nd Timothy 1:7
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound judgment.”
The Church in Kericho County under NCCK recognizes that Kenya is going through uncertain
period of economic hardship, Covid-19 pandemic and confusion over the BBI. The Church in
Kericho County continues to pray that we overcome these issues as well as guide the Kericho
County and the Nation on the following message:

1. Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill 2020 (The BBI)
NCCK Kericho CCC has noted that preparations for the Referendum on the Constitution of
Kenya Amendment Bill 2020 are continuing. We applaud the government for listening to the Church call to fully
constitute the IEBC commission towards the preparation for theReferendum and 2022 General Elections. Considering
that amendment of the Constitution is a crucial process in which all Kenyans MUST participate, we
urge that allKenyancitizens are accorded opportunities and adequate time to read and understand the Bill.
We are greatly concerned of the intrigues around the BBI document and authenticity of the process in the
County Assemblies and the National parliaments. We strongly urge the politicians to stop the schemes
and playing tricks on the BBI processes. From the aforementioned issues, we ponder;
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF KENYA
FOR WANANCHI
a) Why hasten the Constitution Amendment process, is it a do or die issue? Should we postpone
the amendment of the Constitution to next year until all the contentious issues are
addressed?
b) Can we have Constitution Amendments done in sections unlike the current proposed
amendments that are quite bulky?
c) Should the billions budgeted for the referendum be channeled to fight COVID-19 and revive our
struggling economy?
Further we propose
a) The BBI should promote equality, inclusivity, cohesion and prosperity for all instead of
disfranchising Kenyans and dividing Kenyans along ethnic lines.
b) That the BBI document should be authenticated and accessible to all Kenyans
c) Provide the BBI document in both English and Kiswahili versions for all Kenyans to read,
understand and make informed choices on the document.
d) Politicians should leave Kenyans to make their own informed decisions and avoid use of money
to sway their decisions.

2. Safeguard Peace and Cohesion during Referendum and 2022 General Election
The Church leaders believe and will endeavor to ensure that peace prevails during these
important processes of referendum and 2022 General Elections. We are grateful to God for
the peace we are enjoying in Kericho and in Kenya. We urge all Kenyans to resist any attempt
from any person and events or process to threaten the peace and security we are enjoying as
we head to 2022 general election. To strengthen peaceful coexistence and cohesion in the
communities in Kenya and particularly in Kericho County, we say;
a) Politicians to desist from raising political temperatures and creation of tension among
Kenyans through incitement narrations of “No One shall Stop Reggae” and “Hustler
vs Dynasty” narrations.
b) That the Church shall be impartial and deliberate in denying the politicians a platform
in the Church to campaign and urge them to stop use of monies in pressing their
political agenda
c) We urge religious leaders to disengage from being chief campaigners of politicians.
We remind the religious leaders that they are also voters and are mandated to protect
the interests of their congregants
d) The church pledges to work with the Kericho County Security Team in enhancing
peace and security through monitoring and reporting perpetrators, incidences of
violence and insecurity in Kericho County
e) We urge Kericho residents to resist politicians from hiding behind their respective
communities for the crimes they have committed individually to avoid incitement.

3. Cushion Kenyans from the Economy Hardships and Stop Corruption
The Church in Kericho County is much concerned about corruption and blatant theft of public
money even the COVID-19 funds. We are worried that all Counties in Kenya misappropriated
the COVID-19 funds as per the General Auditor’s 2020/2021 FY report. The rising cost of
living, high taxation, collapsed businesses, high rate of unemployment, lockdowns
necessitated by COVID-19 compounded by the ever-growing national debt has overburdened
Kenyans. We urge the government to:
a) Cushion Kenyans through lowering the high taxation and offer tax waiver on basic Household items;
foodstuff and cooking energy.
b) Conduct impartial investigation and prosecute all corruption cases, reinstate and strengthen wealth
declaration for all civil servants.
c) Roll out the Ward Development fund to spur economic growth at the grassroots levels. To prevent
devolving corruption further to the grassroots levels, the citizens should be empowered on how to demand
for accountability and transparency on resource allocation.

4. Protect our Environmental Conservation and mitigate effects of climate change
Kenya’s Vision 2030 envisions reduced environmental pollution and general degradation. The
Church is aware that Climate Change has become the new crisis affecting our food security
systems. We recognize that natural resources can be a great causal effect of conflicts and
ethnic antagonism. To protect environmental degradation and mitigate the effects of climate
change, NCCK Kericho CCC highly recommends the following
a) Kericho County government to initiate programs and engage the Church in creating
awareness on conservation of our environment to mitigate the effects of climate
changes
b) To discourage the community members from further degrading environment in the County, through
promotion of alternative and sustainable livelihoods by introducing efficient energy
options among the community members.
Conclusion
As we conclude, we urge all Kenyans to promote peace, love and co-existence as we prepare
for the referendum and the 2022 General Elections. Dear Kenyans, we need peace before,
during and after the Referendum and 2022 General Elections. And in spite of our different
political alignment and diverse ethnicities we remain Kenyans. We need politics that will allow
us to be united and prosper. Let each one of us as Kenyans, play our part of being
peacemakers as we are inspired in Matthew 5:9
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”
Signed on this day 6
th May, 2021 at A.C.K Grace Conference Centre Kericho.