November 30, 2009.
PRESS STATEMENT BY NYANZA COUNCIL OF CHURCH LEADERS COMPRISING OVER 200 CHURCHES.
It is our humble submission from the onset to state that the Mau issue is not a Hon. Raila Odinga issue but one which revolves around National Interests.
At most it is also very clear that the issue which has enormous environmental proportions was passed and ratified in the Cabinet where the Honorable Minister for Agriculture alongside Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.
We therefore condemn in the strongest possible terms the heinous plot by some Rift valley members of Parliament to sponsor a motion of no confidence on the Prime Minister. What is clear is that the Mau eviction exercise was duly passed in the cabinet and in parliament.
It is also not in dispute that Hon Raila is not the Minister for Forestry and that if there is a mishandling of the entire exercise, the concerns should be directed to the Minster in charge, together with the officers on the ground.
Notice should also be given to the fact that Hon Ruto and Kenyatta and their henchmen, are now using the Mau saga to besmirch the character of the Prime Minister, in a thinly veiled attempt aimed at gaining some form of political mileage, but they should know that Kenyans ate watching them keenly.
The plot here is to shift the focus of Kenyans away from the ongoing debate on the harmonized Draft constitution, with ulterior motive. It is our humble prayer that the government should look for alternative sites for those who have been removed from Mau, and have genuine documents. As church leaders, we don’t want war and confrontation over the potentially explosive issue since it will polarize various ethnic communities in those regions.
Therefore, we are taking this early opportunity in telling Hon Ruto and Kenyatta to leave the Hon Prime Minister alone. We also appeal to the leaders of the Grand Coalition Government to work in harmony, in the spirit of the National Accord and Reconciliation, signed before chief mediator Koffi Annan.
We again reiterate that the Church fraternity in Kenya is still perplexed By Hon John Michuki’s rules over noise pollution. Our stand is that the rules are repugnant and an affront to our faith and do not promote freedom of worship that is entrenched in the constitution of the Republic of Kenya.
We submit that the rules should be suspended forthwith, since it negates the very principles that are enshrined in the constitution. Notice should be taken that it is very difficult to reach young people, without the aide of public address systems, and that is noise. John the Baptist and our savior Jesus Christ made noise to draw the attention of the people.
Finally The Jews questioned because children were making noise, and he replied and said ‘If these children stopped making noise, the stone will make noise’
All prophets made noise e.g. Jonah, Samuel, Jeremiah, David e.t.c. We need the noise in order to target the modern youths. During the time of prophets and even John the Baptist, they preached outside with noise. We totally disagree with the Minister to return us to dark days.
Soviet Union and Eastern Germany banned Churches from preaching outside, and plunged their Countries into poverty far worse, Compared to America and Britain.
May God bless Kenya.
SIGNED BY: –
1. Bishop Dr. Washington Ogonyo Ngede. Chairman.
2. Arch Bishop Julius Otieno Vice Chairman.
3. Bishop Jasper Ogello wadegu.
4. Bishop Hesbon Njera.
5. Bishop Eliakim Mbata.
6. Bishop Allan Ojwang Iro
7. Bishop George Obul
8. Bishop Richard Odongo
9. Bishop John Ongonga.
I THOUGHT YOU WRE SERVING THE ALMIGHTY, LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT YOU ARE ALSO RAILA SLAVES. TRUE TO YOUR NATURE YOU ARE DEFENDING YOU EARTHLY MASTER.
Ogonyo should start worshipping god instead of politicians. When Moi was in power Ogonyo was worshipping Moi and now he has turned to Raila.
His association was created by Kaguthi to challenge Raila whom he now pretends to support
NOISE POLLUTION
The level of decibels that human ears can tolerate is limited. Exceeding it leads to health troubles.
Noise pollution is dangerous for the health of the people since it can cause permanent deafness or even death in some of them. On medical grounds, I salute the minister for taking steps that will save Kenyans from noise pollution. Noise interrupts sleep in all people: children, the sick and even normal people.
When people are chronically deprived of sleep their heart beat could change and this could lead to sudden death in some of them.
People who are engaged in serious thought might find their trend of thought diverted by stray noise, which in fact contributes nothing to the well-being of the people.
The Nyanza churchmen should be the last to challenge the minister for environment over noise control since they are well versed in the way the people of old in Jericho raised a thundering noise that made the walls come down tumbling.
Resonance created by the building up of noise in degrees till it reaches a crescendo could in fact cause such vibration that could break solids. High frequency vibration is used in cutting through tissues in surgery. This is measured and controlled vibration. What about the uncontrolled noise that we are bombarded with daily by other people in the streets and homes where we live?
With the passing of time we might not even know the salient causes of our ill health, but this could be directly linked to the noise we are exposed to. What right do other people have to maim or kill us with their noise?
Hiring a room to sleep over night on Tom Mboya Street, prior to the banning of noise by the minister, was like throwing money into rubbish bin. I have yet to meet anybody who enjoyed sound sleep in the hotels along this street, prior to the banning of noise, thanks to the noise leashed out by matatu touts all night.
When we sing, play music or preach aloud, do we ever stop and think whether or not other people enjoy our music, songs or even preaching? What right have we to impose our feelings and likings on others?
A time came that the amount of noise in the center of Nairobi BD was so high that one could not even hear their own cell phones ringing.
Some business people might even argue that they play loud music to attract customers. But are all and sundry exposed to the pollution created by noise going to be customers?
How will the business people who are making noise as a trade benefit their customers by making them permanently deaf or even dead from the effects of resonance?
Is it lost to these Nyanza churchmen the fact that more often than not, musicians are dropping dead as a result of the repeated loud noise that they expose themselves to in the course of their work? It is no wonder that the clever ones protect their ears as they ”kill” their clients with the noise that they create as they sing.
There is more to noise that meets the eye dear Nyanza clergymen.
DR ODIDA OKUTHE.