AFRICA/KENYA - Bishops of Sudan/South Sudan to Kenyans: "Choose the path of peace"

Wednesday, 25 October 2017 bishops elections peace

KENYA

2024-04-12
Religion is an instrument of peace and not of war: the conclusions of the seminar in Nairobi promoted by the Dicastery for interreligious dialogue

2024-03-27
Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Eldoret

2024-02-13
Appointment of auxiliary bishops of Nairobi

2024-02-02
President of the Bishop's Conference: "Everyone must respect the rule of law"

2023-12-07
Agricultural workers from Malawi and Kenya are supposed to work in Israeli fields

2023-10-05
Kenyan delegation presents expectations and hopes of Kenyan Catholics at synod

Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - "It is a message that we Kenyans cannot just close our eyes, ears, and hearts to": this is the reaction shared with Fides of the President of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Bishop Philip Anyolo of Homabay diocese in Kenya, to the message of solidarity from the Church in Sudan and South Sudan as Kenya faces a situation of political uncertainty.
In a letter dated October 20, which the President of Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SCBC) sent to Fides, Bishop Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala says, "this solidarity letter to you dearest brothers in Episcopacy is a reminder of our love and unity in the mission of Christ with you all".
KCCB Chairman Bishop Anyolo tells Fides that the Catholic Church in Kenya acknowledges with much appreciation the solidarity message coming from a Church that has experiences of protracted lack of peace. "This is a testimony from brothers and sisters in Christ, who have gone through enormous hardships and sufferings", underlined Mgr. Anyolo. In the solidarity message, Bishop Barani recalls the painful past South Sudan has experienced since the December 2013 violent conflict started.
"I am writing this letter to you from the Republic of South Sudan which was born in 2011 as an independent country and got into its own circle of violence in 2013", writes Mgr. Barani. "I tell you as I write we have not found solution nor is it either in sight". Recalling that Kenya welcomes millions of Sudanese refugees, Mgr Kussala writes, "Kenya is our natural home and will ever be, so we wish her Peace. For this reason we join our voice to yours to call on all Kenyans to chose life over death, peace over violence".
Kenya seems to be at cross roads with the repeat presidential elections ordered by Kenya’s Supreme Court scheduled on Thursday, October 26, amidst controversies within the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) whose senior staff have admitted divisions. Today, October 25, Kenyans are waiting with bated breath on the verdict of cases filed in the Supreme Court seeking to postpone the election. (DBO-L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 25/10/2017)