NAIROBI MAY 19, 2017(CISA)- Cardinal Berhaneyesus Souraphiel, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE) and Chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) has called on all Kenyans to pray ahead of the General Elections.
“I would request Kenyans citizens to continue to pray for peaceful elections. The people in Kenya are praying and that is a great way of preparing for elections. We assure you that the AMECEA countries are also praying for you,” the Cardinal said.
He was speaking in an interview with CISA May 19 in Nairobi, on the sidelines of celebrations to mark the 25th priestly anniversary of Fr Chrisantus Ndaga, who is the AMECEA Head of Social Communications Department.
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“It is not the first time that Kenyans are doing elections. We see improvements every time elections are being done. The great improvement I see now is all Kenyans are concerned about elections and that shows that they are responsible citizens. It is a right of citizens to vote,” he said.
“The great preparation I see in Kenya in society is that people are praying for the elections. It’s great to give this to God so that he will bless it,” he added.
“As Catholic Church we always say to our leaders that leadership is service, leadership is not power. People chose leaders because they believe that they will serve them, that they will stand for the good of the country, the peace of the country and for the development of the country,” he said.
He noted that Kenya is very, very important in Eastern Africa especially to the countries to which Kenya is a link to the rest of the world.
The Cardinal further called on Kenyans to respect each other’s rights since they are bonded by the constitution. He also called on Kenyans to elect leaders who will stand for the common good of all.
“Kenyans are all equal before the constitution so no division based on ethnicity, gender, religious, social status should be witnessed. We ask them to choose leaders who will stand for the common good of the country with no such divisions,” he said.
While congratulating Fr Ndaga, Archbishop Souraphiel noted that anniversaries are times for giving thanks to God.
“These are times of thanksgiving and time of gratefulness. I would say to Fr Ndaga to be grateful to his parents who gave him life who nurtured him… I’m sure many people are crossing through his mind all those who contributed to his arriving at this stage of service to the Lord. I congratulate him and ask him to continue serving the lord.”
The Cardinal asked Kenyans to emulate good examples of countries like Tanzania and Zambia who both held peaceful elections recently.
“Be assured that all the AMECEA countries will be praying for Kenya,” he concluded.
Kenya will hold General Elections on August 8.
