The Siaya Church Leaders Forum has appealed to youth and political organizers to shun street demonstrations during the upcoming Gen Z protest commemorations, urging them to hold peaceful services in places of worship instead.
Speaking to the press, the forum’s leadership voiced profound concerns over regional security, maintaining that history proves street actions frequently degenerate into chaos, destruction, and deadly confrontations with law enforcement.
”While we recognize the right to picket as enshrined in the Constitution, history tells us that in most cases, such demonstration ends up in violence, loss of lives, and destruction of property,” said Bishop James Opiyo Anyango, the Chairman of the Siaya Church Leaders Forum. “As the clergy of Siaya, we therefore advise that the forthcoming commemoration of the Gen Z protest should avoid street demonstrations and provocation of the security agents.”
The forum’s Organizing Secretary, Wilfred Amolo, emphasized the tragic toll of previous demonstrations, noting that peaceful intents are often hijacked, leaving youthful citizens to bear the brunt of the fallout.
”Our daughters and sons lose their lives because they go and provoke the police into violence,” Amolo stated. “The police are there to protect lives, but if they are provoked to an extent that properties are being destroyed, then they also end up opening fire on our innocent children.”
With the next General Election roughly 14 months away, the leaders challenged political factions to de-escalate rising national temperatures. Rather than fueling street agitation, the clergy called on leaders to focus their energies on rallying citizens for the ongoing voter registration exercises.
Bishop Anyango reminded politicians that the current administration remains constitutionally in place until the next cycle, and that the ballot box is the ultimate platform for democratic change.
”No need for insults and disrespect to the authority… mwananchi will have time to make decisions,” Anyango urged, cautioning against a resurgence of the political unrest that historically fractured the nation in 2007.
Amolo reinforced this stance, reminding aggrieved citizens that real change rests in their hands as voters. “If somebody ever wants to change things politically, then we have the vote. In the next 14 months, we are able to vote out whoever we don’t want.”
The forum also thanked President William Ruto’s administration for initiating compensation programs for the families who lost relatives during previous waves of civil unrest, urging the state to ensure the payouts are exhaustive and inclusive of all affected victims.
