Anglican Church of Kenya Katakwa Diocese Bishop John Okude. [Photo/ westfm.co.ke]
Anglican Church of Kenya Katakwa Diocese Bishop John Okude had told politicians to stop dividing the country along tribal lines.Speaking at St James Church Malaba, Okude said Kenya was not ready to descend into another cycle of violence.“There is a big problem. Already the issue of tribalism is emerging in the country because of politics. Party affiliations and positions should not make us start fighting each other and promoting ethnicity,” he said.“Instead of inciting communities to start hating each other, politicians should use good language and unite the communities. Busia and the tribes living in the county are all ours, thus the need for peaceful co-existence,” he added.He wondered what benefit lies in inciting violence.Busia County is among zones which bore the brunt of the 2007/2008 Post Election Violence which claimed over 1,300 lives and displaced over 600,000 Kenyans.During the violence, affected county residents crossed over into Uganda only to return in 2015 courtesy of United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the Kenyan government.Majority of those who ran into Uganda were accommodated at a camp in Kiriandongo in South Western Uganda.“My black vehicle resembles those of politicians,” Bishop Okude said.“I am being stopped all over by people thinking I am one of the philanthropic aspirants. Let money given out by politicians not influence the way we vote. We might end up getting poor leaders for the next five years if we rely on inducements. This brings embarrassment and poverty,” he added.