Ecumenical Civic Education Programme

RESOLUTIONS OF THE DIALOGUE FORUM BETWEEN KENYA CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS (KCCB) AND NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF KENYA (NCCK) AND ELDERS

4^TH MAY 2016

1        Preamble

Representatives of the Councils of Elders from Borana, Luo, Kalenjin, Kamba, Kikuyu, Kisii, Luhya, Meru, Miji Kenda, Embu, Taita, Maasai and Somali communities have met for a dialogue forum with the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops and National Council of Churches of Kenya here at Jumuia Conference and Country Home, Limuru. The forum reflected on the state of the nation especially towards the 2017 General Elections and the role that elders and church leaders need to play in preparation for the elections in an atmosphere of peace and national cohesion.

2        Concerns Regarding 2017 General Elections

This forum recognized that as the country gears up for the elections, there are various issues that are of concern and which require to be addressed for peace and national cohesion and integration to prevail. These concerns include:

i)                    Readiness of elections-related institutions

• The institutions of key concern that have a direct and weighty role in the desired outcome are the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the Supreme Court of Kenya, Director of Public Prosecutions, the National Police Service, and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission
• There is need to strengthen the capacities of these institutions so that they play their impartial and independent roles in ensuring the 2017 General Elections are peaceful, free, fair and credible

ii)                   Fanning of ethnic hatred for political mileage

• Early campaigns have started, but some of them are not issue based
• Sadly, aspirants and other political actors are seeking to use ethnic identities to label Kenyans as either supporters or enemies
• Ethnic mobilization is hurting the country and could spill over into another cycle of violence at the 2017 General Elections

3        The Way Forward

We commit that through the Councils of Elders and religious institutions we represent, we shall address these issues of concern by using the following means:

i)                    Call for Dialogue

• Recognizing that Kenya is a diverse country, no single individual or party can claim to have the solutions for all our  challenges
• We appreciate the need for dialogue by all stakeholders to ensure that solutions arrived at are acceptable to all Kenyans
• We in addition call for sobriety in dealing with the issues of concern in the nation by all actors
• We commit to work with other leaders in our communities to promote dialogue especially among the political actors so as to deflate the hardline positions being adopted on national and regional issues
• We promise our support to the efforts by church leaders to mediate and spearhead dialogue at the national level
• We will organize and facilitate dialogue at the local levels so as to ensure that good relations within and between communities are maintained

ii)                   Promote Rule of Law

• We recognize that the glue that holds our society together is the commitment to the rule of law
• We therefore urge all Kenyans to agree to abide by the Constitution of Kenya and the laws that are in place
• On their part, we urge all institutions that have the mandate to enforce the law to fulfil them so as to ensure that justice and peace prevail

iii)                 Facilitate Local Consultations

• The strongest driver of ethnic hatred is ignorance of the prevailing situations and the implications of actions by different actors
• The church leaders and elders will partner to facilitate scenario building sessions at the county and constituency levels so that Kenyans may appreciate what the nation is facing as we draw nearer to the elections

iv)                Organize a National Consultative Conference

• The County and Constituency consultative forums will feed into or draw from a National Consultative Conference that will involve all cadres of Kenyans
• The Conference will be facilitated by Church Leaders and Elders
• The purpose of the Conference will be to give Kenyans an opportunity to take stock of readiness for the 2017 General Elections and agree on interventions necessary in the areas of weakness

v)                  Championing for Peace and National Cohesion

• All these engagements are meant to ensure that Kenya has peace before, during and after the 2017 General Elections
• The gains made with regard to national cohesion and peaceful co-existence of tribes especially after the 2007 elections and the traumatic aftermath must not be compromised
• We therefore commit not to allow any political or social actors to preach hatred or violence in our communities

4        Conclusion

The 2017 General Elections are a wonderful opportunity for our country to progress our peace, national cohesion and integration. We all therefore commit to mitigate against all efforts by politicians to endanger and risk national peace and integrity around the elections.

May God bless Kenya now and always.

Signed on this 4^th day of May 2016 at Jumuia Conference and Country Home, Limuru, for and on behalf of all Church Leaders and Elders present: