Press Statement on Mpeketoni Attacks

Preamble

Fellow Kenyans and all people of good will, we the religious leaders of Kenya have met under the auspices of the Inter Religious Council of Kenya to reflect on the recent happenings in our country.

2.         Killings at Mpeketoni

It is with great sorrow, grief and heavy hearts that we send our condolences to all the Kenyans who lost their loved ones during the satanic and barbaric attacks at Mpeketoni and Poromoko villages over the last two nights. We are shocked beyond belief that such a gruesome attack could be perpetuated in this age and era.

We pray that God Almighty will grant the bereaved families and friends peace and comfort during this sad period of mourning. We also pray for speedy and complete recovery for all those who were physically, spiritually or psychologically injured during the attack.

We further express our heartfelt gratitude to the Kenya Red Cross and other emergency response organisations which speedily moved to provide assistance to the survivors of this tragedy. We pray that God will bless you and empower you to continue doing such good work.

 3.         Government’s Responsibility

Having reflected on what transpired on Sunday and Monday nights at Mpeketoni, we wish to state emphatically that the government is the only body constitutionally mandated to provide and ensure security to all Kenyans, and has at its exposure all the security apparatus and personnel. It is therefore incomprehensible to us that Kenyans can continue to be killed in a wanton manner in their own country by criminals. We thus call upon His Excellency the President to do all that is within his powers to protect the lives and properties of all Kenyans.

In this regard, we call upon the government to provide psychosocial and material support to the affected families, moreso in view of the fact that the killers targeted only the men. Relief supplies should be provided to the families until they recover and rebuild their life sustenance systems.

 4.         Action on Insecurity

We the religious leaders call upon the government to take decisive actions to stem the rising stream of insecurity. This is the time for the government to move with speed. It is time for the government to be seen to act.

We especially point out that Kenyans expect nothing less than arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of this attack. Criminals must not be allowed to think that they can harm Kenyans and get away with it.

Further, we call upon the government to go beyond interdicting hapless administration and police chiefs, and instead take punitive action on those found culpable for allowing Kenyans to be killed in such a manner. If these government officials bear any responsibility by allowing the killings to happen, they should be arrested and charged in court, not merely interdicted or transferred.

We in particular challenge the government to immediately overhaul the intelligence gathering system so as to have one that is effective.

In addition, we call upon the government to initiate a consultative process leading to the development and implementation of a comprehensive national emergency response and mitigation plan. It is quite clear to all that the current Disaster Response Mechanism is not effective nor does it facilitate clarity on the responsibilities of different bodies especially the security agencies.

 5.         Call to Kenyans

In the meantime, we urge all Kenyans to unite at this time of national sorrow. We must not allow a few murderers to divide us and cause us to brew hatred and discord. Let us continue to live as brothers and sisters regardless of faith, color, race, ethnic background or political affiliation. And let us remain in prayer for our nation, confident that God will never forsake us.

May God grant us peace in our land.

 Signed on this 17^th day of June 2014 at Pan Afric Hotel, Nairobi.

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