Kenyan church leaders will be meeting next week to discuss plans to promote reconciliation as the country’s political leaders move towards a new constitution.
The three day meeting will bring together church leaders from all denominations to talk about how communities can be brought back together and what the new government should be doing to encourage re-settlement.
The move follows a political deal between president Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to form a coalition government after two months of civil infighting.
The first step towards that end was taken yesterday with the state opening of parliament which began with a minute’s silence in memory of the 1,000 people who have died in the post-election violence.
MPs will meet again next Tuesday to formally approve the deal and to amend the country’s constitution to create the post of executive prime minister, which will be taken on by Mr Odinga.
Truth
There are also plans to establish a truth and reconciliation commission.
Already there are signs that people believe peace could be lasting.
A displacement camp at Narok, where Tearfund helped provide essentials for 2,000 people who fled their homes in fear at the height of the crisis, now only has 200 people as most have returned home.
But elsewhere the picture is less encouraging with camps in the Northern Rift Valley reporting increased numbers of people.
Gladys Wathanga, Tearfund’s Desk Officer for Kenya, said,
`The camps could well be with us for another four or five months before everything is sorted out.
`There seems to be relative peace in most areas of the country although there are pockets of violence, with houses still being burnt down.’