FAITH leaders across Kenya have united to condemn the attacks
this week on two churches, in which at least 17 people were killed
and 66 wounded.
Police believe that the raids last Sunday, in the border town of
Garissa, were the work of insurgents from the Somali group
al-Shabab, which has links with al-Qaeda. The town is a staging
point for Kenyan army operations against the rebels in Somalia.
Up to seven masked gunmen launched simultaneous gun and grenade
assaults on the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Consolata, and
on the Evangelical Garissa African Inland Church (AIC) during
morning service.
The organising secretary of the Council of Imams and Preachers
of Kenya, Sheikh Mohammed Khalifa, said: "Any God-fearing person
will not celebrate the death of innocent people who gather for the
purpose of worship or any other cause."
The general secretary of the National Council of Churches of
Kenya, Canon Peter Karanja, said that he was "deeply saddened" that
worshippers were "mercilessly murdered by criminals who hid their
faces because they could not face up to their dastardly acts".
The RC Archbishop of Nairobi, Cardinal John Njue, called on all
Kenyans to work towards peaceful co-existence. "Fighting terrorism,
extremism, and insecurity . . . is the duty of every Kenyan, since
criminals and terrorists operate among us," he said.
Television footage from the AIC church showed blood on the floor
and walls, and clothes, shoes, and Bibles strewn around. One
worshipper, Paul Mwalali, told the Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation: "I had a front-row
seat in the church. I heard something fall on the roof. Then there
was a huge explosion. I fell on the ground. Then there was
shooting, and people were screaming."