Pentecostal churches' religious leaders in Nyeri County have urged Raila Odinga, the leader of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance, to take his complaints against the current administration through the proper legal channels.
The church leaders claim that the demonstrations are robbing Kenyans of their time, way of life, income, and lives while speaking under the aegis of the ecumenical council. The leaders, led by Bishop Paul Wanjohi of the New Life Church, have pressed Raila to look for alternate dispute resolution procedures that won't impact the taxpayer's finances.
"We are now concerned about the opposition's recent weekly anti-government protests. Every election has winners and losers, and there are legal procedures in place to address any complaints raised by those who feel wronged", according to Bishop Wanjohi.
The Bishop continued, "We implore the Azimio la Umoja leadership to end the demonstrations and assign their elected officials to communicate with the government through the institutions that can deal with some of these issues".
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Bishop Joseph Kagunda, head of the Kenyan Anglican Church, echoed his sentiments when he claimed that Mr Odinga was mobilizing Kenyans to fight for the wrong cause.
According to Kagunda, some problems, like the recession and the effects of climate change, were more than just local to Kenya.
He argued that the government should be given time to address some issues, such as the rising cost of living, since it had already put short-, medium-, and long-term measures to improve the lives of Kenyans.
Do not criticize the government through demonstrations; it is still in its early stages and needs time to function. Instead of directing them to destroy wealth that has taken a long time to accumulate, let these leaders who are busy protesting on the streets use that energy to do good for Kenya, said Bishop Kagunda.
The leaders also criticized Mr Odinga's calls for talks with the current administration as being unnecessary.
According to them, facilitating talks between the two sides amounted to undermining the voice of the voters who overwhelmingly supported the current administration.
They contend that Mr Odinga ought to set a better example by not picketing in public like other politicians who ran for various seats in the general election of 2022.
"Those advocating for conversation at this time should reflect on their desire to legalize extortion. Bishop Wanjohi stated that if shaking hands after every election is the solution", it is unnecessary to spend billions of dollars on elections because they will be meaningless.
The speaker continued, "Many people competed for various positions such as governors, senators, and members of parliament but none of them have taken to the streets except one who is not satisfied."
