Limuru:  Representatives from different church organisations have said that the Church has a significant role to play in advocating for good governance to alleviate the suffering of the people caused by poor governance.  They called for maximum participation of all adding that it is more effective done in an ecumenical spirit.
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The representatives met this week from November 3 to 6 in Jumuia Centre in Limuru to deliberate on advocacy for good governance under the auspices of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA).
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They agreed that the socio-economic challenges facing the country and region today are due to poor governance which plays a significant factor in these challenges.
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"We appreciate that this forum has come at a time when Kenyans are being presented with the contentious Waki and Kriegler Reports on post-election violence. In our prophetic calling as a church, we are obliged to intervene for the oppressed as we read from prophet Jeremiah 22; 3 (King James Bible), they said.
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They came up with the following recommendations of achieving good governance; that a legal framework for lobbying and advocacy in Kenya should be developed, participation of the Church in legislative processes through a Parliamentary Liaison Desk be enhanced and a need for interfaith collaboration in advocacy.
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Other recommendations made were requirement of capacity building in lobbying and advocacy skills for strategic actors, role of media in advocacy and collaboration of all Kenyans and full participation in advocating for good governance.
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The organisations said, "We believe it is the duty of each one of us, Church leaders, Church organs and all advocates of justice to take up a proactive role in order to attain a well governed, just and more equitable society."
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The following Church organisations were represented: Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, (CJPC) Jesuit Hakimani Centre, National Council of Churches of Kenya, (NCCK) Religious Superiors Conference of Kenya (RSCK) and Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya (AOSK).