After almost a week of intense post-election violence and rioting, Kenyans on both sides of the political divide are turning to God for His grace to save Kenya.
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(Photo: AP Images / Sayyid Azim)Kenyans join in prayers at International Christian Church in Nairobi, Kenya, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, to pray for the country after bloody violence after the Dec. 27, 2007 elections. President Mwai Kibaki told the top U.S. diplomat for Africa that he was willing to share power and the opposition backed off demands for his resignation, offering hope for an end to Kenya's deadly electoral crisis. As Kibaki and Raila Odinga faced growing pressure to compromise, the violence that has killed more than 300 people across the country appeared to ease in the capital for the first time since the disputed vote that gave the president a second term and awakened dormant ethnic rivalries.
Conflict-weary Christians across deeply religious Kenya filled churches on Sunday to pray that God would intervene to bring peace where the political leaders have failed.
Jane Riungu, leading her five children in their best clothes to a hilltop church outside Nairobi, said, “Our leaders have failed us. They have brought this catastrophe upon us. So now we are turning to the Almighty to save Kenya.”
Kenya has been the scene of rioting and looting since President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election last Sunday was furiously contested by opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Hundreds have been killed in the ensuing ethnic violence and clashes between protesters and police, which threaten to unravel stability in the entire east African region. Another 250,000 people have been displaced from their homes.
Protestant, Catholic and other churches were united in prayers and moments of silence for the dead on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of refugees have sought shelter in churches, police stations and grassy fields around the trouble hotspot Eldoret. Around 30 men, women and children – mainly of Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe – were killed in a church in nearby Kiambaa when it was torched by a violent mob of local Kalenjins last Tuesday.
Some 9,000 refugees from the Eldoret environs have found shelter in the ethnically-mixed town’s Sacred Heart Cathedral, despite the massacre at Kiambaa.
Catholic Bishop Cornelius Korir, a Kalenjin, said, "I've tried to tell people there's no difference between us. I look after all people, regardless of tribe.”
South African Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu has been in the country since Wednesday, moving between the two opposition groups in an attempt to solve the disagreements between Kibaki and Odinga, and halt the violence on the streets.
On Saturday, the Pope called for an end to the “great tragedy” in Kenya and pressed politicians to end the dispute through dialogue and debate.
Pope Benedict expressed his “deep sorrow and concern” over the situation in a letter sent on his behalf by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to the president of the Kenya Episcopal Conference.
The letter stated, “He pleads for an immediate end to acts of violence and fratricidal conflict.
“The Pope also appeals to political leaders, who are responsible for the common good, and invites them to embark resolutely on the path of peace and justice, since the country needs peace that is based on justice and brotherhood."
The letter added that the Pope was praying for an end to the violence and expressed his solidarity with Kenyans and bishops in the country.
Also on Saturday, President Kibaki announced he was ready to form a national unity government but the opposition rejected the offer, demanding Kibaki’s resignation and an international mediator to broker talks before a new election in three to six months.
"My position has not changed. We want a negotiated settlement. Our starting point is that Kibaki is there illegally. He should not come to the negotiating table as the president," opposition leader Odinga told reporters.
Ghanaian President John Kufuor will visit Kenya to talk to both sides about a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Before the violence, Kenya had been regarded as one of Africa’s most stable and economically flourishing democracies.
The Media Council of Kenya has announced an hour-long "Prayers for Peace" broadcast on all major channels for Sunday evening.
"Together, our prayers will help bring Kenya back to the beautiful, united nation we all love,” the council said.
RSS
KENYA Reaps Suffering
(For the people and the government of Kenya)
O Lord...,
Our beloved country is suffering
in the middle of people holding their positions
and people wanting to grab the power;
in the middle of people igniting disturbance
for satisfaction and needs of one of the groups;
in the middle of people breaking the ethnic groups
for a certain need;
in the middle of the people enjoying parties
with anger and blood.
While the others
are crying to your presence, O Lord
asking the strength in suffer
and tears
enduring hunger and torture.
O Lord...,
Are these the fruits of reaping fields?
Thousand of souls are shamefully butchered
Hundreds of souls escaped
in fear and gripped by fright
Hundred thousands of children are neglected
traumatic, and screaming to You, O Lord.
“Remember this:
A man reaps what he sows.”
O Lord...
we sow The Word
we sow moon
we sow love
we sow sun
But why ... O Lord
We reap anger and disturbance
reap killing and butchering
reap hunger and misery
reap various wickedness
O Lord...,
Do not say this
to us:
“But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,
you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended
on your own strength
and on your many warriors,
the roar of battle will rise
against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated”
Darkness...!!
It is not because God isn’t the Light anymore
but the people are blinded
having no more feeling, no more inner self!
Wicked seeds
sown by devils
growing fast and creeping
to blind people’s eyes
to come to hearts of the children of Lord
through wealth and riches
through misery and poverty
through rank and position
through status and power
through the sinful nature
and will be destroyed.
O Lord..,
give us strength
to sow in the Spirit for us
to be able to reap eternal life.
“Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love!
Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.“
***
Jakarta, January 10, 2008
By: Syarif Oppusunggu
Father where there are divisions, tear them down. Put the love of Jesus heart on everyone regarding this matter. Father in Your word You said that the latter rain will be greater than the former rain. If My people who are called by My name and humble themselves and paray and turn from their wicked ways, and seek My face. Then I will hear from heaven and I will come and heal their land. Father Kenya needs healing! Let Your people stand on one accord and pray for peace between everyman, everywoman and every child. And Father, what the enemy has meant for evil, turn it all arounf for Your Glory and the good of Kenya's people! Rain down on Kenya with Your Peace that surpasses ll understanding in the midst of Kenyas unrest. Brinig Your Joy and Your peace to the whole country of Kenya! Father I raise up into your hands, on the Throne of Grace, that one would perish for lack of knowledger in Kenya tonight! Use this situation for the good of the people of Kenya and for Your great Glory! Father put the love of Jesus heart on all the people of Kenya anmd let them all live together in peace, given by the Prince of Peace. Father one more request send down Michael and all of Your warring and guarding angels to expel the dark forces over Kenya at this time. In Jesus name . Amen!
HampsteadPete...
Christians turn to God in prayer in times of national and personal crisis and the Creator of the universe grants us his perfect peace which surpasses all understanding!
I tremble for your soul. You have gone too far this time even for a backslider and a self-proclaimed atheist by calling God "the most bloodthirsty genocidal maniac in all of fiction". But then again, God is good at forgiving those who know not what they do and say. God have mercy on your poor misguided soul.
I'm curious...who do atheists and backsliders turn to when they face a real crisis?
I'm sure that Hampster would rather see them turn to the Planet of the Apes for peace. Sorry, the only hope for peace was born in the middle east. As long as we look to ourself and our pride and prejudice, we will never be able to display the dignity and respect that is due. When we recognize that we were all created equal, we might be able to treat each other equal.
Ouch! I think I pulled a hamstring.
Oh great! They are turning to the most bloodthirsty genocidal maniac in all of fiction to stop a bloodbath? Face it - that tactic hasn't worked for anyone since Joshua.