The Kenyans youth have been asked to prioritise peace in their aspirations and be the pillar of stability in the country regardless of rising political temperatures.
In his keynote address while opening the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Prime Cabinet Secretary (PCS) and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi asked young people not to be misused by politicians.
The PCS stated that it was unfortunate to see young lives being lost and their lives cut short due to their uninformed choices.
“I call upon our young people in Kenya and across the region to reject violence, divisive politics and tribalism. No young and promising life should be sacrificed for political expedience. Elections will come and go, but our nation's unity, stability and future must endure for generations to come,” Mr Mudavadi said.
While representing President William Ruto in opening the conference which brings together more than 100 Catholic bishops across the region, PCS said that more youths were losing opportunities abroad because of the content that appeared on their social media accounts.
He encouraged the youth to embrace digital technology and be champions in AI innovation and to exercise personal responsibility online.
“I speak now wearing the official hat of foreign minister. We are seeing increasingly young people being denied an opportunity to further their ambitions and their desires because somewhere along the line, their social media platform have undesirable content. Please be careful. You could lose your scholarship, you could lose your opportunity elsewhere.”
Mr Mudavadi also stated that the church remains a critical pillar of the government in several areas.
Speaking on the sidelines of the conference to Nation, Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Nyeri, who serves as chairperson of the conference's planning committee, said that the church would always address issues affecting society, no matter how difficult it might be for the government of the day.
“If there are issues that even become personal, we want to make the politics of our nation a politic that is ethical, that is respectful, that is not a competition of insults, where we can think differently but at the same time sit down as one,” Archbishop Muheria said.
In response to the recent call by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to encourage Kenyans to protect themselves if the state fails to do so, Archbishop Muheria stated that ensuring the nation's security remains the government's responsibility.
“Security depends on each one of us and there is no way we should throw away this responsibility. The security apparatus should do their duty, we as citizens should do our duty and government take that responsibility.”
