By Betty Luke
Religious leaders in Isiolo have urged Generation Z and Millennials to end the anti-government protests and engage in a dialogue with President William Ruto to prevent continued loss of lives and destruction of properties.
While condoling with families that lost their loved ones during the countrywide protests, the clerics drawn from Isiolo Pastors and Bishops Forum hailed the young people for leading the call for accountability by the duty bearers.
“While we agree that the youth have clearly demonstrated to the nation that sovereign power belongs to the people, we ask them to cool down since the highest office (in the country) has promised to listen to them,” noted the forum’s chairperson Revered Murungi.
The leaders regretted failure by the state to conduct meaningful public participation that they said fueled the protests as majority of the citizens felt that their opinions had not been considered.
“Public participation should be taken seriously now and in future to ensure full participation by all stakeholders, especially the youth who are the majority population,” read part of the group’s joint speech.
The clerics also accused the government of failure to protect the demonstrators against police brutality and what they termed as repeated trend of blackmailing the young people by labelling them as criminals.
They said there was a need for the government to listen and address issues raised (by the young people) to prevent recurrence of similar incidents.
The forum’s Vice Chairperson Reverend Nathan Maingi reiterated their commitment to providing mentorship opportunities to the youth so that they stay engaged and shun drugs and crime.
“The church is committed to offer mentorship and link the young people to vocational centers to ensure they acquire requisite skills for employability and self-employment,” he noted.
The group also called for accountability by the two levels of the government for improved service delivery to the citizens.
