Archbishop Maurice Muhatia (left) along with other members of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops at Clergy Home, Queen of Apostle Mission Parish, along Thika Road on November 14, 2024.
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) issued a press statement begging the government to restore hope in the lives and fortunes of her citizens, only to receive the beating of a lifetime in return, without being told their mistake and how they should correct it.
It’s difficult to see why anyone would be angered by that statement that was written in plain English that even those who only saw a blackboard at a carpentry workshop could understand and interpret for the crystal clear message it was meant to convey.
For those who are feigning ignorance at the contents of that communique, the 29-member KCCB – composed of all Bishops of the Catholic Church practising in the seven corners of Kenya – was written on Thursday, November 14, 2024, and was not addressed to anyone in particular, until the government got pricked and claimed victim.
It is difficult to see why the regime would have a problem with the content of that letter that was aptly titled, ‘Let Us Restore Hope’, and adopted a tone of humility throughout the framing of the thematic areas, even when they did not have to.
The letter begun by humbly thanking God for the gift of creation that saw us being born in this well-endowed and God ordained country that we all call home.
In the same vein, the Bishops extended a hand of gratitude to all Kenyans for answering to the call of creation and preserving our national heritage sometimes under difficult circumstances for the sake of posterity.
They finished by being grateful to all Kenyans for remaining peaceful and useful to their country in economic engagement and on discourse that deepens our democracy even in challenging situations.
You have to be out of your mind to see this kind gesture of goodwill as anything challenging national cohesion and peaceful coexistence among our interethnic identities.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons and daughters of God. It looks like someone in government doesn’t want to be called a child of God, and it would be curious to listen to their reasons.
The Bishops did not end there. They thanked the government for its tireless efforts to ensure peace is maintained at all times, finishing off by assuring the security organs that in the current choppy world filled with fermenting pestilence, cross-border hatred and incessant turmoil, Catholic Bishops do not take for granted the efforts that the government has made to ensure a favourable environment of tranquility that has enabled Kenyans to go about their daily hustles with relative breathing room.
Any government insider who could have been irked by this lofty complement should surely have their heads run through a mental health checker.
Issues at hand
Let’s fast forward to the issues of concern raised in the memorandum.
Political wrangles in and out of government have generated unwarranted tensions and deepened divisions among Kenyans.
Further, it has created an environment of mistrust among the citizens and within the government itself. Which part of this statement would anyone raise up their hands to flag off as factually incorrect or objectively untrue?
The government should be glad the Bishops ran out of ink on this thematic area, because had they bought it by the barrel, they would’ve prised open healing political wounds and caused public sentiment to inflame afresh.
If we were to go by the current pulse beating from the Mt Kenya chest box, there’s still a long way to go to assuage the grief of those hurt from the kicking out of office of immediate former Deputy President, Mr Rigathi Gachagua.
If there is a subject matter closer to the hearts of Kenyans that the Bishops did well to stick the word of God into, it was that of violation of human rights and freedom of speech.
The regime in power – try as they may – might choose to intimidate the general public with a lorry load of strongly worded statements refuting the existence of a rogue unit within the security services which has assumed the powers to end the lives of innocent Kenyans on a whim, but it is okay – nothing lasts forever.
Right questions asked
All the Catholic Bishops did was to issue a polite reminder to the government that Kenyans have clear eyes and they’ve been teary watching their loved ones suffer immeasurable pain and senseless loss of lives in the hands of those we pay to protect personal lives and public property.
By asking who is killing these people with the full knowledge of those we pay through the nose, the Catholic Bishops needed closure on behalf of members of their congregation deeply affected by the extrajudicial mayhem, as they are the ones who administer the last rites to the victims and come face to face with the pain of their loved ones.
Instead of providing an assurance and restore the public confidence in our security agencies, the government has chosen to attack the messenger .
The issue of over taxation should not even be among the things that should make the government mad. Unless they have been living abroad and only come here once in a while to stoke public dissent, even a visitor in Jerusalem knows the reasons why young Kenyans started a movement in June this year that tragically ended right inside parliament.
Taxation
The Catholic Bishops are saying that no Kenyan has a problem with paying taxes, however, it is the manner and the motive these taxes are being levied that is causing anxiety, panic and resignation among the general public.
Had the government come in with clean hands, and spoke right to the basic needs of those affected by punitive taxation, maybe Kenyans would be persuaded to engage with the proposals in a way that meets the government halfway.
By lashing out at the KCCB for borrowing the mouths of Kenyans who have found it difficult to make ends meet, what the government is doing is to run away from the lived reality of ordinary folk giving them the impression that they’re on their own.
No one would like to live in a country where those who speak truth to power are picked at and buried under a hail of state sponsored bullies.
We should agree as a country, to mark a line on the sand that we shouldn’t cross with our messengers of truth, justice and reconciliation.
If we continue like this, then everyone will be fair game to the state, and Kenya will lose its lynchpin status in the league of respectable nations.
