The Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit has called on the Kenya Kwanza government and the Azimio la Umoja Coalition to take advantage of the calm in the country at the moment to resolve the contentious issues.
While speaking after a service at ACK St. Andrews Church in Thika, the archbishop urged the government and the opposition to exercise moderation as they prepare to commence the peace talks.
Moreover, Ole Sapit lauded the effort to have peace talks saying Kenyans felt a sigh of relief when President William Ruto and Raila Odinga agreed to call a truce.
However, the Archbishop opined that it was disappointing to hear the leaders spewing harsh words towards each other concerning the much-anticipated talks.
While calling for moderation and an end to the protests, Ole Sapit also condemned the leaders for exchanging words in public spaces noting that it may interfere with the outcome of the Raila-Ruto talks.
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“Tulikua tumeanza kutulia kwa roho wakati viongozi wa nchi hii walionyesha dalili ya kukubali mazungumzo ambayo inaweza kuleta mauwiano katika nchi yetu. Lakini kuanzia jana na juzi tumeanza kuona maneno na matamshi makali kwa virengo vyote viwili ambayo inatishia ile nafasi ambayo wakenya walikua wameona kuna matumahini.” Sapit stated.
This can be loosely translated to mean; ‘Kenyans became hopeful when the two opposing leaders agreed to have peace talks. However, the two leaders are now having public exchange of words which may interfere with peaceful talks’.
According to Ole Sapit, the exchange of words may kill the expectations Kenyans have on the success of the talks to a peaceful country.
He called on the two warring sides to mend the issues of contention and lay more focus on developing the country for the present and future generations.
Raila-Ruto Talks
Kenya Kwanza and Azimio Coalitions are set to have talks to address issues of contention between the two sides.
Azimio is looking to have the government lower the high-cost of living and look into the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) among other issues.
Furthermore, Azimio requested to have the meetings commence on Monday, August 7 and end by the close of the Month.
However, Kenya Kwanza delegation team wrote a letter requesting to reschedule the joint first meeting to Thursday, August 10.
