Religious leaders plead with Ruto and Gachagua to dialogue
By Achieng' Mary, October 13, 2024A section of religious leaders drawn from various parts of the country have asked President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua to dialogue and iron out their issues.
The clergy led by Bishop Jarrison Mwendwa of Jesus Celebration Church, expressed that the two leaders should come together and make amends for the sake of the country’s developmental progress.
They emphasised that the two leaders should engage in talks to help salvage the situation before matters escalate further. They also urged the Senate to be impartial when handling Gachagua’s impeachment trial.
“Kama inawezekana, rais mwenyewe na deputy waketi chini, waelewane na hii mambo, kwa sababu hii ni kama ndoa, hatuezi furahia kama walikua wameoana vizuri kisiasa lakini wakafika mahali wakakosana. Ni vizuri rais aweze kuchukua nafasi na deputy wakawasliana na imani, mambo yatakua mazuri,” the clergy said.
Earlier, various leaders including former Makueni County Governor Kivutha Kibwana called on prominent religious leaders to mediate the issues between Ruto and Gachagua.
Kibwana noted that it was unreasonable for one political group to use the constitution to fight the other.
“Prominent faith sector leaders should mediate between President and Deputy. Despite differences, Pres Kibaki & PM Raila served their term ( 2008-12). And so did Uhuru & Ruto during their 2017-22 tumultuous years,” the former county head said.
“We should establish a convention of Pres & DP serving Full Term. Art. 27(4) Const. forbids discrimination of basis of ethnic origin. Art 91 forbids ethnic based political parties. Recognizing the citizenship of Nubians, Makonde, Shona etc is great. However it is wrong to marginalize Mt Kenya/South Eastern groups or other classes, sectors etc.”
Adding;
“The constitution should never be misused by one political group to fight another. That is the simple point I am making. In 2007/8 we almost lost Kenya. Governors & their Deputies fight day in day out for no good reason. The President & Deputy fight is not about good governance.”
Last week, 281 Members of Parliament (MPs) voted to impeach the DP over various grounds including abuse of office, violation of the Constitution and gross misconduct among others. The DP’s fate now lies with the senate where he will be tried in plenary sessions following his impeachment by the National Assembly.