Catholic Archbishop in Kenya Urges Youth to “refuse incitement” Ahead of General Elections

He underlines the need for peace in the country’s forthcoming elections and urges the youth to embrace God’s love among each other as a way of ensuring peaceful elections.

In his message, the Local Ordinary of Kisumu Archdiocese who doubles as the Vice Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) challenges the youth to ascertain their contribution towards peaceful elections through registering as voters and exercising their rights by voting on the election day.

He encourages them to realize the worthiness of an individual vote saying that it can contribute towards electing a right leader.

“As a young person, what are you doing to contribute to the peaceful election? Your vote might look small, might look insignificant but it can hugely transform this country if you use it to vote in the right leaders,” Archbishop Muhatia says. 

The 53-year-old Catholic Church leader says that although a peaceful election is a collective responsibility, more responsibility in the activity lies with the youth.

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He says that the youth should be careful in their actions because they still have a future to protect as compared to their elderly counterparts.

“We appeal to the young people to understand that they have a bigger stake in the future of the country because it belongs to them as much as the present belongs to them,” the Archbishop who had been at the helm of Kenya’s Nakuru Diocese before he was transferred to Kisumu Archdiocese says.

He adds in reference to the youth, “What we do with the present, will do a lot in identifying and showing us the road we are going to take as we move towards the future.”

Reflecting further on the theme of the fifth week of the Lenten Campaign, Archbishop Muhatia says that the church is specifically appealing to the youth to be the ambassadors of peace in the forthcoming elections.

“As we move towards the general elections in August, the church is making a special appeal just to the youth more than everybody else in this fifth week; but the invitation to have peaceful elections is for everybody,” he says in his April 8 Lenten Campaign message.