Clergy set 20 days of prayer, fasting as Kenya gears up for polls.

Rev. David Kariuki Ngari addressing the members of press at the Calvary Chosen Center, Thika during a prayer session. He is being franked by tens of Bishops and pastors from different denominations across the country. 

Religious leaders drawn from different denominations have devoted 20 days of prayer and fasting for the nation in the run up to the elections in August.

The more than 200 bishops and pastors said that beginning July 2^nd to July 21^st  2017, they would retreat to Abel City Retreat Centre and intensify their prayers to ensure the sustenance of peace and tranquility in the country, before, during and after the elections.

Speaking on behalf of the clergy at the Calvary Chosen Center in Thika, Apostle John Kimani said that the retreat will culminate in a mega prayer rally dubbed the National Peace and Prayer Rally at Uhuru Park Nairobi on the 22^nd of July.

“As the church, we are going to use prayer to break the cycles of bloodshed and turmoil in this country especially during the elections. We will not sit back and watch as Kenya gets polluted through witchcraft,” said AP. Kimani.

The men of the cloth blamed the spirit of tribalism on the politicians who they accused of reviving negative ethnicity every election year. They called on the Hon. Francis Xavier Ole Kaparo-led National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) team to zero in on all leaders who spread hate and incited the public against fellow Kenyans.

“We fail to understand why the issue of tribalism only emerge only during election time. These are the same people who congregate together in churches, live harmoniously in residential area and work together in in the workplaces. What then changes when it comes to elections?” asked Rev. David Kariuki Ngari popularly known as Gakuyo.

“Ole Kaparo and your team in NCIC. All our eyes are on you. Nobody is above the law and you must not allow politicians to divide us on tribal lines. Your team and the police should take charge and manage peace in this country,” Gakuyo added.

He condemned recent sentiments by NASA presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga at a rally in Kajiado in which Raila said that should he win the elections, his administration would empower the community to stop them from selling their land.

Raila is said to have called on the Maasai people to evict others from Kajiado when he said Maasai should not sell their land to those who continued to impoverish the community.