Listen to youth if you want to end protests, church leaders tell gov’t

Days after it was accused of taking part in organizing demonstrations led by Gen-Zs, the church is standing its ground that the government must listen to its young people if it intends in any way to bring to an end the recurrent anti-government demonstrations witnessed in parts of the country.

In concurring messages delivered in various parts of the country on Sunday, church leaders have condemned the death and destruction of property that compounded Wednesday’s protests.

In Nairobi, Catholic Archbishop Philip Anyolo and his Nyeri counterpart, Archbishop Anthony Muheria, urged the government to listen to the youth in order to address the wave of street protests witnessed recently in parts of the country.

"They are asking us to prepare a future for them, and we should all be ready to do something to prepare for them, first by listening to them, and also giving them a chance to listen to us,” said Archbishop Anyolo.

Muheria added: "Tusiongee kama ni watu ambao tumeamua maisha ni sisi tu. Mambo ambayo tunatetea, tunazungumza ni ile yaitwa kwa Kiingereza sophisms. Tumejawa na huu unafiki."

Elsewhere, Anglican Church leaders condemned the destruction of property and the loss of life that occurred during protests five days ago, but warned the country’s leadership against burying its head in the sand over critical issues being raised.

In a statement, the Anglican Diocese of Nyahururu asked the government to intervene in improving the economic well-being of the people, reducing the cost of living, and addressing the country's unemployment rate as a stopgap measure to curb the rising unrest.

“Give top priority to the economic well-being of the people. The cost of living is unbearable for many families. Young people are unemployed. Parents cannot pay school fees. Businesses are struggling. These are not just statistics; they are stories of real suffering. Government must listen, act, and responf quickly,” said Bishop Samson Gachathi of the ACK Nyahururu Diocese

James Kanyi added: "Let's stop what we call sideshows and address the real issue. The real issue is that Kenyans are not satisfied with the misuse of public resources, with how our leaders are behaving — and they are just calling leaders to accountability."

In Thika, Rev. Daniel Nderitu of PCEA Thika said: "The spirit of financiers of goons — they do not have any other category than the category of goons."

The statements by church leaders come three days after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen accused religious leaders of failing to condemn violence and encouraging youth involvement in street protests.