Archbishop Muheria recent statements on rejecting immoral leaders based on their support towards issues like bhang, Abortion, Sex and Sexuality education should be shunned away from.
What is immoral about access to life-saving information, service that aims to support adolescents, young people and women when it comes to Comprehensive Sexuality Education. Access to sexuality education including Contraception services?
We must encourage and choose leaders who support issues that aim to advance our reproductive health lives at present and even in the future. What is this that irks the church, religious leaders about young people getting informed about sex, sexuality issues?
Why does it really pain the church when we have leaders, politicians who support access to information, services on Abortion and even going a notch further and developing laws, policies that aim to shift the death of pregnant persons out of preventable cases and causes?
Leaders who support social, health and reproductive health issues are not immoral. They are progressive. Access to sexual reproductive health and rights information, services remains vital and remains as access and enjoyment of human rights to all.
It is sad to see how the church clearly draws the line on the issues that they strongly support whilst other issues like the cost of living, corruption aren’t addressed. What double standard is this? The church should also boldly support not electing, re-electing politicians who for the longest time have just been siphoning resources from Kenya.
You do not reject a leader and term them as immoral because you do not understand the importance of access to information, services on reproductive health to all persons. These progressive leaders that develop bills, policies, address issues on Abortion, Sex and sexuality defy the every day fear as they understand the issues, they understand how the issues aim to support its citizens. Unsafe Abortion related deaths are increasing as there is a lot of myths and misinformation and a lot of stigma in its access, largely based off from religious, cultural views within the society.
The church call to reject immoral leaders based on issues of Abortion, Sex, sexuality, LGBTQ+ support is an imposition of maintaining the family values that discriminate against new kind of family set ups, continue to burry their heads in the sand on sex before marriage and on issues of Contraception for the young people as well. Besides, religious reasons is just a biased excuse for individual beliefs since Kenya is a secular state!
Promoting access to sexual reproductive health and rights information and services to the adolescents and young people, supports young people’s decision making at present and even in the future. Promoting the real, alternative different forms of families should also be embraced and this was particularly clear from the Azimio’s manifesto that mentioned support to single mothers through financial literacy program.
When “their kind” get challenges from these issues they would be able to afford these services in the high end facilities while poor persons are the ones ailing from this, Do not allow to be brainwashed.
Voters should gauge aspirants by their track record. Interrogate candidates, feel involved when they are planning for the issues, manifestos they support. This is how your issues start to be thought off.
We are not a religious state so why does it matter if leaders who support social, health issues demeans Christianity? Religion should not influence legislation and policy. That is demeaning democracy.
Kenya Conference of catholic Bishops role is to spread love, care, support like Jesus did, it is pointless to call for rejecting of leaders that support social, health issues. Kenya is not a religious nation nor are its laws.
I dare say that as a country we are Hypocrites! We only choose the values that suits us, we play to the morality that suits us. I dare say that nothing demeans humanity more than Christianity. God loves us all. But religion in all its entirety says and does otherwise, they judge you.
Kenya is a country, NOT a church! Kenya IS ONLY “CHRSITIAN” when Abortion, Contraception, LGBTQ+ persons, Sex and sexuality issues are involved. Never when these politicians rob the country blind, not when the cops kill people all the damn time, not when our human rights are violated.
Alvin Mwangi
Youth Activist
Nairobi, Kenya
Twitter: @alvinmwangi254