Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - According to the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), the new constitution being drafted should ensure full compliance and protection of human life. The NCCK also asked the Committee of Experts to produce two documents which reveal the different systems of government. In a press release titled: "Kenyans, Build Consensus Genuinely", published at the end of the Executive Meeting, held in Limuru on December 3rd, the National Council of Churches has demonstrated that the hybrid system proposed in the 'Harmonized Draft Constitution (HDC) is unacceptable, stressing that Kenya has already tested this system in the past with disastrous results. The Secretary General of NCCK, Peter Karanja, said: "We ask the Committee of Experts to be decided and to offer Kenyans a simple system that is feasible. The hybrid one is more useful to serve as a political expedient rather than to give the country a new start. "
"The proposed constitution should be clear of issues that go against life such as abortion," says the statement read by Secretary General of the NCCK, Rev. Peter Karanja. Both constitutions say that life begins at conception and ends with natural death. Children once conceived have the right to be born, added NCCK. Regarding the controversial Islamic Courts (Kadhi Courts), the NCCK claims that it should be completely removed from the constitution, as it contradicts the principle of equality of religions, namely the separation of state from religion and the fact that the state should treat all religions the same way. The National Council of Churches in Kenya, founded in 1918, is the largest in the world and involves all the Protestant churches and Christian organizations in the country. The Roman Catholic Church in Kenya, which has more than 30% of followers from among the country's population is not part of NCCK, but is often engaged in joint activities. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 9/12/2009)
