17th January 2019
MESSAGE OF HOPE AND SOLIDARITY WITH VICTIMS OF THE DUSITD2 HOTEL ON THE 14 RIVERSIDE DRIVE TERROR ATTACK ON 15TH JANUARY 2019 - FROM THE KENYA CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt. 5: 4-9).
We, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, offer our sincere consolation and condolences to families who have lost their loved ones following the terror attack at DusitD2 Hotel located at the 14 Riverside Drive in Nairobi. We wish those wounded and those traumatized by the horrible experience quick recovery. We continue to pray for you all.
We commend our National Police Service and all security agencies for their effective response, tireless efforts to ensure safety of the affected persons in the DusitD2 Hotel incident and quick restoration of order. We pray that the almighty God protects and gives them strength to soldier on with dedication in providing the much needed service for a safe and secure Kenya.
We recognise with great encouragement the efforts and quick responses of volunteers and health care workers in providing first aid and urgent medical attention to save lives of the affected persons. We also applaud citizens for embracing the spirit of patriotism by spreading messages of hope on social media and for the overwhelming response to calls for blood donations.
As the Catholic Church, we appreciate our local parishes located near the scene of the incident, namely Holy Trinity-Kileleshwa, St. Austin and Consolata Shrine, who mobilized Christians to provide food, soft drinks and water for the rescue teams.
As Bishops, we are saddened that young men and women have reached a point of believing that killing innocent people is a good thing! This culture of death, which is misguided by the lure of money and false sense of heroism is a challenge to us all and must be collectively confronted. We stand in support of any necessary initiatives by the security agencies and all other stakeholders in the security sector, that will help defeat this self-killing ideology. The perpetrators, their facilitators and sympathizers must not be given any chance to kill innocent people. On our part as citizens committed to peace and respect to human life, we must be ready to support security agencies by offering any information that can help them identify, disrupt and apprehend suspects before they carry out their evil plans.
Aware that healing takes a long time, we call upon all religious leaders and citizens to continue providing spiritual support to those affected and their families. We affirm our commitment to work with the Government to preserve the common good, support the innocent and promote peaceful co-existence.
We, therefore, stand firm with the people of Kenya and the International Community to condemn these terror attacks which have once again affected us, as a country.
It is indeed during these tough times that we unite together as one people, one Kenya. We must reject all propagated divisions aimed at dividing us on the basis of ethnicity, politics, gender and religion. Let us be our brothers’ keeper and remain vigilant working closely with our security officers to deter similar attacks within our peaceful Nation.
May the Peace of the Lord be with us all.
God Bless Kenya.
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Most Rev. Philip Anyolo
CHAIRMAN
KENYA CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS