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The clergy has called on President William Ruto to move with speed and mitigate the hard economic times Kenyans are going through.
In a statement, the National Council of Churches of Kenya and Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops said the government should adopt measures to address the high cost of living in the short and long term.
NCCK Timothy Ndambuki and KCCB chairman Martin Kivuva said many Kenyans have lost their sources of livelihood and can hardly make a living.
“We fear the growing sense of hopelessness will push the country into instability and possibly violence,” the statement read.
The clerics warned Opposition leader Raila Odinga against giving Kenyans the impression that the current regime could be removed from office.
“Do not give people false hope that the government can be removed from office through the collection of signatures,” they said.
Azimio has unveiled Tumechoka, a citizen’s initiative aimed at collecting 15 million signatures to supposedly force Ruto out of office.
The initiative, launched by Raila is targeting to collect 15 million signatures to remove Ruto from State House.
Announcing the commencement of the signature drive at Kamukunji grounds in Nairobi on July 7, Raila quoted Article 1, clauses One and Two of the Constitution.
But the Constitution says a President can only be ousted by way of the Parliament and only two grounds; impeachment and incapacity.
In the case of impeachment, a legislator, supported by at least a third of all MPs, moves a motion for impeachment on three grounds.
In their statement, the clerics urged the President to repeal the Finance Act 2023 to reduce the tax burden on Kenyans.
They urged Raila to reconsider the planned mass action which is likely to worsen the economic situation.
The clerics called on Kenyans to demand adherence to the rule of law even in hard economic times.
“We are all hurting, and there are many pressures that can push us into despair. We however must not go down this path as it is the way of destruction. We must firmly resist incitement,” read the statement.
The church called on Kenyans to deliberately engage in all public participation forums to influence policy and decision-making processes. BY THE STAR