Kenya Churches to Greet Christian Solidarity Visit
An international ecumenical delegation will visit Kenya beginning Wednesday to show solidarity with its struggling churches working for peace amid the country's post-electoral violence.
The visiting team, being sent by the World Council of Churches (WCC), will also learn how the international fellowship of churches can best support Kenyan churches and their peace and reconciliation efforts. Group members are part of "Living Letters," an initiative that is part of the WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010). The visit on Jan. 30-Feb. 3 is being hosted by the National Council of Churches in Kenya.
WCC General Secretary the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, who is a Kenyan, said the violence and destruction in his homeland "portray a country that one would hardly recognize as Kenya."
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Kobia expressed hope that Kenya "will overcome the prevailing situation and that the churches will play an important part in speeding up that time." He hopes the visit will express "that we feel part of the same family, and when and where any part of the family hurts, we hurt with them."
The visit will include meetings with Kenyan religious leaders – both Christian and of other faiths – government officials and opposition leaders, churches, local communities and civil society organizations in Nairobi, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru and Kakamega.
Violence erupted after the Dec. 27 presidential election when opposition leader Raila Odinga accused incumbent President Mwai Kibaki of rigging the poll to his advantage. The two candidates' political strife overflowed to divide ordinary citizens who are divided by tribal lines.
Kibaki is from Kenya's largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu, and Odinga belongs to the smaller but still large Luo tribe.
"There is only one Kenya. We all have multiple identifies, but I hope you all see yourself as Kenyans first," former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan said Tuesday, addressing the country's tribal tension, according to CNN. "[We] must stress our common humanity and uphold respect for human rights and the dignity of others."
On Tuesday, Annan met with Kenya's government and held talks with Kibaki and Odinga. Before the meeting, he pleaded with the Kenyan government to protect civilians after another uproar took place following the murder of opposition lawmaker Mugabe Were outside his home Tuesday.
More than 700 people have been killed and some 250,000 people displaced due to violence since the election. Twenty-two people died Tuesday after fresh clashes erupted following Were's death, according to Agence France-Presse.
Annan hopes to resolve the political issue within four weeks and gave Kenya one year to restore damages that occurred over the past one month, according to AFP.
Meanwhile, Christian agencies such as World Vision, Christian Reformed Church Relief Committee, Compassion International, and the Southern Baptist International Mission Board continue to provide food and shelter to displaced families. The groups have fed and sheltered tens of thousands of people in Kenya who otherwise would have no food or roof over their heads. Many Christian agencies have vowed to stay for as long as they are needed.
