Kenyan Bishops Demand Action Against Corrupt Politicians

Catholic bishops across Kenya have called on the Government to take action against all those linked to the rip-offs through which billions worth of public money has been lost.

|PIC1|Speaking yesterday during a meeting at Waumini House in Nairobi, the bishops urged the Government to make the perpetrators face the law. They however called for fairness in the prosecutions and warned against witch hunting.

"If it is true that some of the senior people in the country, including politicians have been implicated in corruption, they should be made to face the law. But there should be fairness in the process to remove claims of victimization," said Archbishop John Njue, chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference.

The 28 bishops also criticised politicians calling for minimum reforms on the Constitution. They said the calls were being made by power-hungry politicians who wanted to use the reforms as vehicles to drive their selfish interests and called on religious bodies to support Kenyans' demand for comprehensive reforms.

|QUOTE|"We sadly note that the minimum constitutional reforms option has over the years been the preferred method by the politicians in and out of power. Those in power use it as a means to threaten potential opposition to their hold on power. Those aspiring power use minimum constitution reforms because it is the easiest option to gain control over the state," read part of the bishops' statement.

A Government-sponsored Inter-Parties Consultative Forum was recently constituted to spearhead the constitutional review process.

Archbishop Njue made calls to religious bodies to focus on reconciliation ahead of the review process noting that the late last year referendum had driven deep tribal wedges among Kenyans.