As days slide towards the August General Election, Mijikenda Kaya elders in Kilifi County have called for peace, harmony and unity.
The rage and reckless talks from politicians has sent a wrong message to the residents and the elders now say it’s time for the politicians to see the light and campaign in peace.
Speaking to journalists at Magarini Cultural Centre, the elders said they were not happy on how politicians in Kilifi County and across the region have begun exchanging bitter words which could spark violence amongst their supporters and leading to bloodshed.
They noted some comments made recently by leaders after renowned lawyer George Kithi joined the gubernatorial race to seek the seat in a Pamoja African Alliance party which is associated with Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi.
What followed was a series of reactions from candidates seeking the top seat in Kilifi in funerals which spread in the social media platforms and that the elders did not like.
One of the elders Tsuma Nzai Kombe, the coordinator of Mijikenda Kaya Elders said those who were uttering the statements from Kilifi are people who have been brought up by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party and could be having their differences in public but end up sitting together in hotels to hold talks.
Mr Nzai said the leaders criticizing Governor Kingi and his PAA party who include Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa and Devolution CAS Gideon Mung’aro are all Giriamas and should not show anger when one makes a political decision.
“We are asking the leaders to never again shout at each other and if they go on, we will take action and report them to the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), we shall lodge a complaint to the commission and will not wait for them to come and investigate,” he said.
He called on leaders to respect each other in their speeches during public functions and desist from uttering statements that could divide the people.
He said if a certain leader has information about another leader who has served in office, then they should follow the law to ensure the action is taken by the necessary government institutions but not go to funerals to make such utterances.
“We want leaders seeking political positions to talk about their agenda and their manifestos, how they are going to transform the county once elected,” he said.
The elder added that all those seeking Governor, Senator, MP, MCAs and have not been elected should campaign hard and if they get into office deliver their will as they are now not elected members.
He said they are supporting Azimio la Umoja but will go there with their own party like other regions in Western, Eastern, and other regions ahead of General elections.
Katana Mwagona a Kaya elder from Magarini said recently they want politicians should compete peacefully as they seek votes from the people instead of throwing words at each other.
“What we saw recently in Parliament where leaders clashed in public was not good, we want the elections to be peaceful,” he said.
Mwagona said it was wrong for political leaders to go to funerals and begin insulting other leaders as such could spark tension among their supporters and lead to violence.
On His part Kenga Mwaringa a Kaya elder from Bungale warned the political leaders against such utterances and asked them to hunt votes peacefully.
“We are opposed to leaders who may want to use youth into violence such leaders do not deserve space here on earth, we do not want even to hear them because if violence erupts there will be no place for everyone to go,” he said.
Mwagona said they pray for peace in Kilifi and across the country and called on the security personnel to take action against leaders found to be inciting people into violence.
