Bomet County Coordinating Committee Press Statement

Serve One Another in Love

Press Statement

Preamble

The NCCK Bomet County Coordinating Committee (CCC) in South Rift Region, has met today May 5th, 2021 here at ACK St. Peter’s Church, Bomet. We have met to fellowship in ecumenism and reflect on the national and Bomet County issues affecting the residents of Bomet and Kenyans at large. During the meeting, we took time to pray for the County, Nation and the entire world to overcome the Corona Virus pandemic. We continue to support the government and urge every Bomet resident and all Kenyans to continue being vigilant of COVID-19. Further, to strictly adhere to the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health to protect ourselves and other Kenyans from infection of the Covid-19 virus.

The Church Leaders under NCCK in Bomet County have reflected in the Word of God in John 20:19-22, that the Church has the divine responsibility to serve God in the communities. As founded in the scriptures, we are guided by God’s love to preach the good news of love and shine light in a world full of darkness. We pray that Bomet residents and all Kenyans will continue to love and serve one another in Love as Jesus Christ demonstrated in John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The Church in Bomet under NCCK recognizes that Kenya is going through a very difficult and uncertain period of economic hardship, Covid-19 pandemic, confusion over the BBI uncertainty and incessant political noise. As the Church in Bomet County continues to pray for victory over these issues, we wish to share the following message with the fellow Kenyans:

Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill 2020 (The BBI)

NCCK Bomet CCC has noted that preparations for the Referendum on the Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill 2020 are continuing. We appreciate that the government listened to the Church call to fully constitute the IEBC commission towards the preparation for the Referendum and 2022 General Elections. Considering that amendment of the Constitution is a crucial process in which all Kenyans MUST participate, we urge that the all Kenyans citizens are accorded opportunities and adequate time to read and understand the Bill. We are greatly concerned of the intrigues around the BBI document and authenticity of the process in the County Assemblies and the National Parliament. We strongly urge the politicians to stop the schemes surrounding the BBI processes. From the aforementioned issues, we ponder;

Why hasten the Constitution Amendment process, is it a do or die issue? Should we postpone the amendment of the Constitution to next year until all the contentious issues are addressed?
Can we have Constitution Amendments done in sections unlike the current proposed amendments that are quite bulky?
Should the billions budgeted for the referendum be channeled to fight COVID-19 and revive our struggling economy?

Further we propose that

The BBI should promote equality, inclusivity, cohesion and prosperity for all instead of disfranchising Kenyans and dividing Kenyans along ethnic lines.
That the BBI document should be authenticated and Kenyans to be given the right document
Provide the BBI document in both English and Kiswahili versions for all Kenyans inclusive in Bomet County to read, understand and make informed choices of what they desire for their prosperity.
Politicians should leave Kenyans to make own informed decisions and avoid use of money to sway decision.
BBI should have addressed the issue of how to fight corruption

We urge all Kenyans to use their Right to Vote and to pray and vote until a solution is found. The Church and her congregants are committed to support the government based on inclusivity, transparency and accountability.

Protection of peaceful coexistence and cohesion and 2022 general election

The Church leaders in Bomet are grateful to God for the peace we enjoy in Kenya. We also understand that peace and security are major drivers to sustainable development and inclusive governance. We urge all Kenyans to resist any attempt to threaten our peace and security we are enjoying as we head to 2022 general election. To strengthen peaceful coexistence and cohesion in the communities in Kenya and particularly in Bomet County we urge our politicians, the National and Bomet County government on the following;

Politicians to desist from raising political temperature and creation of tension among Kenyans through incitement narrations of “No One shall Stop Reggae” and “Hustler vs Dynasty”
Politicians to desist from early political campaigns- the Church shall be impartial and deliberate in denying the politicians a platform in the Church and urge them to stop use of monies in pressing their agenda
The Church to engage the Bomet County Security Team in enhancing peace and security through monitoring and reporting perpetrators, incidences of violence and insecurity in Bomet County

Revive our Deteriorating Economy and Stop Corruption

The Church in Bomet County is much concerned about corruption and blatant theft of public money such as COVID-19 funds. We are worried that all Counties including Bomet misappropriated the COVID-19 funds as per the General Auditor’s report.

The rising cost of living, high taxation, collapsed businesses, high rate of unemployment, lockdowns necessitated by COVID-19 compounded by the ever-growing national debt has overburdened Kenyans. We pray for the government to:

Conduct impartial investigation and prosecute all corruption cases, reinstate and strengthen wealth declaration for all civil servants
The Church to roll out social audit program of County projects to enhance accountability from the duty bearers
Church to continuously raise the flag against lack of public participation especially in budget making processes in Bomet County. The church is ready to support the County Government on the basis that the Church is engaged meaningfully as an equal partner in development. The Church pledges to mobilize her congregants to attend all the public forums if we are informed and information is provided in time.
Roll out the Ward Development fund to spur economic growth at the grassroot levels. To prevent devolving corruption further to the grassroot levels the citizens should be empowered on how to demand for accountability and transparency on resource allocation.

Environmental Conservation of the Mara Ecosystem and Mau Forest Complex

Kenya’s Vision 2030 envisions reduced environmental pollution and general degradation. The Mau Complex is critical resource in the Bomet County and affecting millions of Kenyans. Historically, the Mau Complex has been manipulated politically and it pains us to see it’s degradation without any programs in the County aimed at conserving Mau and environment. To resolve these issues, we highly recommend the following

The Bomet County Government to engage the community members in sustainable Land use and development
Bomet County Government and NEMA to enforce laws and policies prohibiting harmful land use such as tomatoes farming, destruction of community water springs, and car wash businesses along Bomet county Rivers
To motivate/discourage the community members from further degrading environment in the County, the Bomet County Government must promote adoption of alternative and sustainable livelihoods and efficient energy options among the community members.

Conclusion

As we conclude, we urge all Kenyans to promote peace, love and tolerance as we prepare for the referendum and the General Elections. Dear Kenyans, in spite of our different political alignment and diverse ethnicity we are Kenyans and we will remain in Kenya. And to the politicians, be open and accept our choices. We need politics that will allow us be united and prosper. Let each one of us as Kenyans, play our part of being our brother’s keeper as we are inspired in Romans 12:10

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Signed on this day 5^th May, 2021 at ACK, Bomet

Ven. Philemon Rotich

Bomet CCC Chairman