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Kiambaa Member of Parliament(MP) Paul Koinange says the church should be used to resolve disputes and help to de-congest the courts.

Kionange who is also the Parliamentary Chair for National Security and Administration said some succession cases can be settled by elders and church leaders without necessarily going to court.

Noting that many families spend fortunes on legal fees, Koinange said some cases take decades to be concluded, including his own family’s succession for the late patriarch Mbiyu Koinange’s estate that lasted for 38 years.

“Kenya is a litigation country and our courts are overwhelmed. We have to find a way to settle disputes and as such the church should be right in the forefront,” said Koinange who also chairs Kenya’s Parliamentary prayer caucus.

Speaking during interdenominational peace prayers held by clergymen from Kiambaa constituency at the NG-CDF office, the legislator also reached out to politicians to champion peace initiatives among communities rather than fuel animosity and conflict.

He also asked preachers to rally Kenyans to embrace the Building Bridges Initiative report which he said if implemented will ensure a unified nation and equitable distribution of resources.

At the same time, Koinange asked the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to take action on politicians who were recently captured on social media making unpalatable utterances during the just concluded Msambweni by-election.

“These are bad examples of leaders and they should be arrested and charged. Hate speech is a dangerous weapon and if not checked it can destroy the nation. We need to preach peace for without it there can be no development,” the MP said.

He also cautioned against the use of social media to cause conflict and hatred and called for strict adherence to the law by administrators of these platforms.

The preachers led by Bishop Margaret Waithera asked leaders to join the clergy in fighting social ills including drug abuse and consumption of illicit brews.