wfn.org | KENYA: PRIMATE PREDICTS PRESIDENT MOI'S KINGDOM WILL CRUMBLE

[a.whitefield@quest.org.uk]

Title:KENYA: PRIMATE PREDICTS PRESIDENT MOI'S KINGDOM WILL CRUMBLE
July 21, 1997
ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE
Canon James M Rosenthal, Director of Communications
Anglican Communion Office
London, UK
Tel: [44] (0)171 620-1110   Fax: [44] (0)171 620-1070

97.7.4.5

KENYA: PRIMATE PREDICTS PRESIDENT MOI'S KINGDOM WILL CRUMBLE 

(ENI) Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi's days are numbered and his
kingdom will crumble, Kenya's Anglican Archbishop David Gitari warned on
17 July.

Archbishop Gitari was giving an exclusive interview to ENI following the 
suppression by Kenyan security forces of pro-democracy demonstrations,
which included the storming of All Saints' Anglican Cathedral in Nairobi
where demonstrators where sheltering. He was speaking from Johannesburg,
where he has this week been meeting with fellow African Anglican
Archbishops at the All Africa Primates' Conference.

"Moi allowed the All Saints Cathedral to be defiled when his police
stormed it to break up pro-democracy demonstrations. That is enough to
bring down divine wrath on him, as the writing appeared on the wall when
King Belsassar defiled the holy vessels in the Book of Daniel.

"I am no prophet nor a son of a prophet, but I told Moi myself that his
days are numbered and his kingdom will crumble if he refuses to repent
and accept constitutional changes."

Last week's violence followed the decision of lobbyists for reform to
hold pro-democracy rallies without prior government permission. 

"In the past, such permission has either been refused or given only at
the eleventh hour," the Archbishop explained. "So now the demonstrators
decided to go ahead regardless. That's when the police stepped in and
tried to stop them violently."

Kenya had its first multi-party elections in 1992 and Daniel arap Moi
won because the opposition was divided. The Constitution favours his
ruling KANU party, so the demonstrators want the Constitution changed
before the next elections, which must be held before the end of the
year. If no changes are made, it is almost certain that President Moi -
already 19 years in power - will be re-elected. President Moi up until
now has refused to make changes, suggesting that there is not enough
time to do so before elections.However, in a seemingly conciliatory
gesture, President Moi on 16 July announced that "from now on, licences
for public rallies will be issued automatically". He also agreed to meet
with opposition leaders next week to discuss democratic reforms.

"He is feeling the pressure from inside the country and after the 
condemnation of the whole world," Archbishop Gitari said. The
governments of the US, Britain and Japan were among those pressing
President Moi for reform.

The Archbishop said President Moi also felt the pressure when he met
with him and other Church leaders on Tuesday, the day before he left for
the Johannesburg conference. The meeting included five members of the
National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), five Catholic archbishops
and two Muslim leaders.

"We put a lot of pressure on him. We told him there would be a lot of 
trouble if he does not agree to constitutional changes," Archbishop
Gitari said.

The opposition was still divided, as it was before the 1992 elections,
but was beginning to see the need to unite. "We in the Church will do
everything possible to get them to work together in unity," the
Archbishop said.

He scotched media reports that the NCCK might put up its own candidate
for president in the upcoming elections. The name of Anglican Bishop
Henry Okullu has been mentioned.

"The idea of putting up a Church leader for president came from only one 
region of the NCCK. The council itself never made such a suggestion. 
Personally, I don't think it is wise for a Church leader to do so. Our
work is not to take over the presidency, but to be the light of the
world."

A Church leader could possibly take over for a short while only, in a 
transitional capacity, Archbishop Gitari suggested. "But I can do a
better job as an archbishop than as a politician," he told ENI.

He mentioned Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa as a good example: 
"During apartheid he was strongly involved in the political struggle,
but when the new government came in, he did not aspire to become a
politician but stepped back."

At the end of their meeting this week, the primates' conference sent a 
letter to President Moi, condemning the defilement of the cathedral in 
Nairobi by police last week.

"I find this very strengthening and encouraging. We in Kenya have
received messages of support from various parts of the world, including
the Archbishops of Canterbury, Canada and Korea, the Church of the
Province of Southern Africa and the Synod of the Church of England,"
Archbishop Gitari said.

The primates' conference also sent a letter to the Nigerian head of
state, General Sani Abacha because the Archbishop of Nigeria, Joseph
Adetiloye, could not travel to Johannesburg this week as his passport
had been confiscated earlier this year following a trip overseas.