Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking to indict several high-ranking Kenyan politicians, "including the finance minister and a former national police chief," "for crimes against humanity," stemming from the Kenyan election crisis of 2007 and 2008.
If you recall, after the Presidential election in late 2007, there was such violence in the nation of Kenya that over 1,000 people were killed. The United Nations had to step in and broker a peace and unity deal between the two rivals, Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga. In the brokered deal, Kibaki is President and Odinga is Prime Minister.
During the violence back in 2007-2008, an extremely sad event happened when people were hiding for safety in an Assemblies of God Church, when tribal violence led parties to set the church on fire. People died and many were injured (mostly women and children). This was an extremely tense time in this nation.
The reason why I am blogging about this today, is to ask for prayer that violence will NOT erupt again, when the summons are issued from The Hague for these politicians to give account of their actions. The Times article quoted John Githongo, a former anti-corruption official, as saying, "Kenya is now a volatile country. The politics are bubbling. A lot of change is happening at the same time. Anything is possible."
The International Center for Christian Leadership (ICCL) is heavily involved in Kenya, conducting outdoor miracle crusades and Schools of Ministry for the native church leaders. We (as you my remember I am the Director of ICCL's Schools of Ministry) have helped to drill wells for clean water, and are involved in a number of other humanitarian projects as well. We need a peaceful Kenya.
Pray for the church of Kenya - for the peace of Kenya - for justice to be done for those who sponsored and committed violence back in 2007-2008.
[Note: all the photos used in this blog were taken back during the crisis of 2007-2008]
