By The Weekly Vision
Kenya’s mainstream churches, The Catholic Church, the ACK, and Evangelicals have urged the government and the opposition to hold round table talks to avoid the ongoing deadly street protests.
The call came after Azimio called for fresh protests on Wednesday this week, despite a warning by the government that outlawed any form of demonstrations. Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) also appealed to leaders across the political divide to consider the plight of school children who have been caught up in running battles between the police and demonstrators in several parts of the country.
“It can no longer be business as usual when political hardliners decide to hold the country at ransom while expecting things to improve when they are getting worse,” said one union official. He added that already some high-end hotels at the coast have started laying off workers due to little business as tourists stay away.
Western envoys in Nairobi are said to have issued travel advisories against visiting Kenya which is a blow as tourism is one of the country’s main foreign exchange earners. Nairobi, which previously ranked high as the best destination in Africa, now risks being downgraded to the level of war-torn Somalia and Sudan.
