AFRICA/KENYA - The appeal of the Archbishops of Nyeri and Nairobi for the march in memory of last year's victims: "Let dialogue prevail"

Monday, 23 June 2025 bishops violence youth

AMECEA

KENYA

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Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – Let dialogue prevail between the government and young people. This is the appeal for the march in memory of the victims of last year's protests against the budget law (see Fides, June 21, 25, and 26, 2024). The march is scheduled for June 25. Yesterday, Sunday, June 22, addressing the media together, Monsignor Anthony Muheria, Archbishop of Nyeri and Vice President of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), and his counterpart in Nairobi, Archbishop Philip Arnold Subira Anyolo, invited President William Ruto to listen to the country's youth.
“With just over 60 hours to the march, our greatest call is to safeguard human life,” declared Archbishop Muheria. “It does not matter what your goals are—the most urgent goal is to protect life, uplift the poor, and listen to one another.”
Archbishop Anyolo added: “We have no right at any time to take the life of another. As Catholics, we believe life begins at conception - and that belief compels us to care even for mothers who mourn children killed in such unrest,” The two Archbishops also addressed a message to young people, urging them to moderate their intransigent positions and participate constructively in nation-building, while warning political leaders that inflammatory rhetoric fuels division and violence. Addressing the young people, Archbishop Muheria ask for “a spirit of unity,” so “let us walk together and find solutions as we mourn those who died.”
“Political leaders must avoid recklessness in speech. As our national anthem reminds us, we must speak with each other to live together as one nation,” added Msgr. Anyolo.
The two prelates urged the government to prioritize justice for those who lost their lives during last year's protests and for those still recovering from injuries sustained in clashes with law enforcement, which left at least 60 dead. In recent days, clashes have erupted during demonstrations demanding the truth about the death in a security cell of blogger Albert Ojwang (see Fides, June 12 and 17, 2025). (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 23/6/2025)