The seven-member group of church representatives sent by the World Council of Churches as part of its "Living Letters" initiative in solidarity with churches facing situations of violence, visited Kenya from 30 January to 3 February.
The group met with the country's vice-president Kalonzo Musyoka - as the president Mwai Kibaki was attending the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - and with the leader and presidential candidate of the Orange Democratic Movement, Raila Odinga.
"Kenyans would like to see their political leaders affirming peace and sorting out their differences, for which a political compromise is needed" - was the message from Canon Peter Karanja, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), which hosted the visit.
"It is true that there is no peace without justice, it is also true that there is no justice without peace" - affirmed the head of the ecumenical delegation Rev Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.
Although affirming their full commitment to the African Union mediation process led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, both parties predictably made the case for their own victory in the 27 December presidential election and handed over documents to the delegation supporting their claims.
"We are not here to judge poll results", Kirkpatrick said. "These documents are unlikely to be helpful to anyone", Karanja added. "Now it is essential to separate issues of human life and dignity from the search for political justice."
In turn, the ecumenical delegation made a strong case for those suffering the brunt of the crisis. "Many women and children are amongst the most affected by the violence and as a consequence of the forced displacement," said Ms Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, general secretary of the World Young Women's Christian Association.
