Protect Life and Prosper (Deuteronomy. 30:19).
- Introduction
Dear People of God and all People of Goodwill,
“Peace be with you”. (John 20:19) We, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, gathered here in Donum Dei, Roussel House, Karen, today, Thursday, 16th April 2026, bring you Easter greetings. May the joy of the Risen Christ strengthen you as committed patriots and God-loving citizens.
In this press statement, we come before you acknowledging the many strengths we have as a Nation, while also admitting our failures and resolving to rise and walk together.
We thank God for the relative peace in our country, aware that many parts of the world lack this peace. We in particular pray for peace in the Middle East and anywhere else where people are suffering due to wars. Pope Leo XIV, while addressing the warring nations, has invited us to pray for Peace and build bridges of reconciliation. The voice of the Holy Father is the true voice of Peace. Dialogue should be given a chance. This war has caused a socio-economic crisis, which has already trickled down to our Nation. We hope and pray that our Government will mitigate these effects.
Easter is a time for hope, “and hope does not disappoint” (Rom. 5, 5). We pray for God’s blessings, we hope for employment for our young people, we hope for a better economy, we hope for a better Kenya, we hope for a society where respect and honesty is upheld, where life is truly sacred.
- Threats to the Sanctity of Life
“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter” (Proverbs 24:11)
Human life is a gift from God to every human individual, to the family, and to the Nation. No person has a right under any circumstances to take it away. Unfortunately, we have witnessed many occasions in our society and in our country where life has been trivialized.
The Shakahola and Kware deaths scandal is still fresh in our minds, where unimaginable killings were exposed. These reveal how weak our government surveillance systems and social vigilance have deteriorated. All these people who were killed and buried in mass graves come from families and neighbourhoods. Questions of how such things happened, without anyone noticing and reporting to the authorities, remain unanswered. We are now witnessing a repeat of these episodes with new unexplained deaths. The discovery of bodies of men, women, and children in gunny bags in Binzaro in Kilifi, and now in Kericho are deeply disturbing because they show the total disregard for the sanctity and value of human life (Cf. Ex 20:13; Dt 5:17).
