Kenya's religious leaders rebuke Kibaki and Raila

• Religious leaders blame the government for the current ills in the country, among them corruption, extrajudicial killings, tribal politics and poor leadership.

• More than Sh80 million was realised, a huge portion of it given by public institutions.

The Kenya Government took a beating from religious leaders for its ‘non-responsive’ leadership during a prayer service for victims of the Nakumatt and Molo tanker tragedies.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga were blamed for the country’s ills among them corruption, extrajudicial killings, tribal politics and poor leadership.

Wild applause greeted the Clergy’s angry message as the two principals with whom they shared the dais looked on.

“When you joined hands to sign the National Accord, Kenyans expected the best leadership ever…however, Kenyans are concerned that they are witnessing the opposite,” said representatives the Inter-Religious Forum Thursday outside the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi.

They also railed against impunity, unemployment, countrywide famine and the slow pace of reforms since last year’s post-election violence.

The leaders included Bishop Boniface Adoyo of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya, Prof Abdulghafur El-Busaidy of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, Rev Peter Karanja of the National Council of Churches and Mr Rashmin Chitnis of the Hindu Council, and they all took turns reading the same harshly worded statement.

“You have been reluctant to punish your friends who are greedy; you have neglected the Internally Displaced Persons; you have not acted decisively on insecurity and extra-judicial killings,” they continued.

In short, the clergy said, “we call upon the President and the Prime Minister to take responsibility for the status of the nation.”

But senior Government officials, including the President himself, hit back during later speeches.

“We cannot afford to keep blaming each other,” said Special Programmes minister Naomi Shaban, who argued that during last year’s post-poll chaos, “our religious leaders were partisan…they also decided to divide us along partisan lines.”

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka picked up where Ms Shaban left off, saying that the religious leaders “forgot to read one on themselves…I think this is what minister Naomi did,” he remarked.  

Although Prime Minister Raila Odinga mostly avoided the war of words except to say that “the blame game will always be there,” President Kibaki addressed the religious leaders after finishing his formal remarks.

“Stop looking for someone to blame,” he told them. “It’s not that…you are holy and you are not guilty at all.”

The Inter-Religious Forum is comprised of churches and councils of Anglicans, Evangelicals, Hindus, Episcopals, Methodists, Presbyterians, Seventh-Day Adventists and Muslims.

During the fundraising, more than Sh80 million was realised, a huge portion of it given by public institutions.

The organising committee had intended to raise at least Sh150 million but chairman Naushad Merali described the outcome as excellent and appealed to the private sector to help meet the target.

“It is an excellent collection that has seen public sector contributing about 70 percent,””Mr Merali, whose Sameer Group of Companies gave Sh15 million.

The money is meant to assist survivors of the fires and bereaved families by settling hospital bills, providing humanitarian assistance and offering social/psychological help.