Kenya – The Catholic Church condemns violence in Kenya’s Tana River region

(Sept. 18) Police in Kenya said Tuesday two mass graves have been found in the country’s coastal Tana River region, where inter-ethnic violence last week claimed at least 38 lives. The graves were discovered in Kilelengwani village, the epicentre of fighting between the Orma and Pokomo that has killed 100 people in the last three weeks, including nine police officers. The victims were shot, hacked and burnt to death as two tribes fought over land and water. Settled Pokomo farmers and semi-nomadic Orma tribesmen have clashed for years over access to grazing, farmland and water in the coastal region. Police cordoned off the graves and said they had asked for a court order to exhume the bodies. The scale of the recent unrest has left many Kenyans convinced it was politically instigated and has raised fears of serious tribal fighting before elections next March. President Mwai Kibaki imposed a curfew last week and sent extra security forces to the area to try to end the violence, intensified by an influx of weapons in the last few years.
The catholic Information Service for Africa CISA reports that the Catholic church in Kenya has strongly condemned the recent killings and urged the Government to ensure that the badly needed humanitarian resources are provided to the victims of the attack. In a statement issued on September 12, the Church also called on the Government to ensure that both sides of conflict (local communities of the Orma and Pokomo) were disarmed. The statement, read and signed by John Cardinal Njue and entitled: A Call for peace and Harmony: Thou Shall not Kill also called on the Government to initiate peace and reconciliation programmes within the two communities. “Politicians should stop pointing fingers at one another and should avoid issuing inflammatory statements,” emphasized the Cardinal in the statement published by CISA.
The Church appealed to the Government to immediately act and ensure that the Constitutional rights of a person to human dignity, freedom and security of the human person and the inherent right to life are upheld. The Cardinal also urged the Government to set up a commission to find the root cause of the clashes.

“We call upon the communities living in the region and across the country to embrace peace and live harmoniously with each other. As Kenyans, we should refrain from any acts of violence against our fellow brothers and sisters,” said the Cardinal on behalf of the Church.
The Church sent its deepest condolences to all the communities and families in the region who have lost their loved ones in the tragic attacks and wished a quick recovery to those who are still nursing injuries.