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Suguta Marmar , April 29, 2007

First Lady Lucy Kibaki with Bishop Vigilio Pante, the bishop of Marmar Catholic Diocese and Father Paul tour the church building under construction after a fund raising ceremony in support of Our Lady of Consolata Church in Suguta Marmar, Samburu District.

First Lady urges community elders to promote peace

First Lady Lucy Kibaki has challenged community elders to complement the Government’s effort to restore peace and ensure security in areas affected by ethnic conflicts in the country.

Noting that insecurity was a major threat to development and caused a lot of suffering especially to women and children, the First Lady said community elders from the Samburu and Pokot communities to take charge and stop the animosity existing between them.

“We cannot allow women and children to continue suffering because of a few criminals, some of whom live among you. Embrace community policing and expose these criminals,” the First Lady said.

Mrs. Kibaki was speaking today at the Suguta Marmar Catholic Parish Church in Samburu district where she helped to raise over Kshs. 2 million in support of the expansion of the church. The First Lady donated Kshs. 1 million.

She asked wananchi from the Samburu and Pokot communities to end the practice of cattle rustling and embrace the gospel of peace and honest livelihood.

Mrs. Kibaki also appealed to the church to play a frontline role in promoting inter-communal harmony in areas affected by communal conflicts.

The First Lady urged the church to facilitate peace meetings in order to foster inter-communal understanding and co-existence, especially among the pastoral communities.

“I am pleased to note that meetings between the Samburu and Pokot communities have been instrumental in ensuring peace,” the First Lady said.

She stressed that it was only through embracing the Christian virtues that communities could resolve differences amicably and live peacefully.

Noting that the Church is a powerful agent of development as well as socio-cultural change, the First Lady called on the evangelical community in Samburu district to also play the role of an agent of positive social and cultural change.

In this regard, Mrs. Kibaki said the Church should enlighten local communities on the need to abandon harmful cultural practices, citing female genital mutilation as one of the cultural practices that should be discarded as it was a major threat to the advancement of girls and women.

“This is a harmful practice that subjects girls and women to serious health risks and even death. It is, therefore, imperative that the Church joins hands with community members in fighting this practice,” Mrs. Kibaki said.

Saying Female genital mutilation is illegal in Kenya, the First Lady urged parents and all members of the public to cooperate in ensuring that girls are not exposed to this dangerous operation.

Emphasizing on the need to protect the girl-child against retrogressive traditional practices, the First Lady asked the church to educate and mobilize the local community towards ending the prevalent practice of early marriages in Samburu district.

She observed that this practice does not only deny many girls an opportunity to acquire education but also hinders their social and economic advancement.

The First Lady, therefore, urged parents to reject the practice of marrying off their daughters until they are of age.

Said the First Lady: “It is sad to note that girls, as young as under fifteen, are wedded to men as old as their fathers. It should not also be forgotten that when girls are married at an early age, they are not well equipped to provide proper care to their children.”

Mrs. Kibaki added that such young and uneducated girls are less likely to ensure that their children go to school.

She underscored the need for the church to sensitize local communities on the importance of education, saying the world was undergoing an enormous transformation in which only those with an education can be assured of a decent livelihood.

Mrs. Kibaki, particularly, called for a stop to gender and cultural practices that discriminate against the education of girls, saying education is a right and all children must be given equal opportunities in Samburu district.

The First Lady said all efforts should be made to not only increase girls’ access to schooling but also to retain them in schools and improve their performance.

“Indeed, those without education will continue to be increasingly marginalized as the modern economy now lays emphasis on knowledge and specialized skills,” Mrs. Kibaki said.

She expressed satisfaction that through the Government’s Free Primary Education program, school enrollment in Samburu District has increased from 20, 724 pupils in 2002 to 29, 293 pupils currently.

In order to ensure all children obtain education, the First Lady said it was important that pastoral communities abandon migratory practices, which makes it difficult for children to attend classes.

She said the Government was addressing the water scarcity as a matter of priority in arid and semi arid areas to reduce the pastoral communities’ burden of moving from place to place in search of the essential commodity.

“As many of you have witnessed, the Government has made tremendous efforts towards ensuring that adequate water is available in all parts of the country,” she said.

In Samburu District alone, the First Lady said eight water supplies have been rehabilitated at a cost of 47 million shillings and 12 new boreholes have been sunk at a cost of 38 million shillings.

She pointed out that this financial year, the district has been allocated 30 million shillings for development of additional water projects, raising the district’s water accessibility from 25 per cent to 39 per cent.

Noting that Samburu District, particularly the Suguta Valley, is agriculturally productive, Mrs. Kibaki appealed to the local community to sustain the trend towards an agro-pastoral lifestyle.

She reassured them that as the President promised during his recent visit to Maralal, the Government will open up the Suguta Valley and beef up security in order to facilitate agricultural and other commercial activities.

“I, therefore, call upon local communities to settle and practice mixed farming. This will enable children to go to school, improve incomes and nutrition and generally uplift the standards of living,” the First Lady said.

On HIV/AIDS, the First Lady urged wananchi protect themselves from the scourge and encourage them to visit Voluntary Counselling and Testing centers to know their HIV status.

The fundraising was preceded by a special Sunday mass marking 25 years since the parish was started at Suguta Marmar.

Delivering the sermon during the special mass, the Chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference, Archbishop John Njue advised area residents particularly the youth to be disciplined, uphold the Christian love and embrace peace.

The Archbishop also asked the youth not to allow themselves to be misused by other people but to live in according to the teachings of the Bible.

Other speakers included Members of Parliament Simeon Lesirma and Assistant Minister Sammy Leshore, the Bishop of Maralal Catholic Diocese Bishop Virgilio Pante, the area District Commissioner Mr. Julius Mathenge among others.