The Global Peace Foundation co-convened the Global Peace Leadership Conference Africa 2024 together with the Interreligious Council of Kenya and the Chandaria Foundation on June 25-27, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. The Government of Kenya was to officially open the conference on June 26, 2024.
However, in the days leading up to the opening day of the conference, what began as a legitimate political debate about pending legislation, turned violent. The Global Peace Foundation recognizes the urgency and complexity of the current circumstances affecting the nation of Kenya.
In the wake of deaths and protests of June 25, 2024, we cancelled the Opening Ceremony of the Global Peace Leadership Conference Africa 2024 where President William Ruto was set to give the keynote address to give him time to focus on the affairs of his nation and find the best way forward together with the People of Kenya.
We are pleased to hear President Ruto’s announcement on June 26, 2024 that he declined to sign the Finance Bill 2024 in accordance to the wishes of his people. Our thoughts are for all those who lost their lives and were injured, and our prayers are for the peaceful resolution of these issues.
The Global Peace Foundation is guided by the vision of “One Family under God” which encapsulates the essential, universal principles and values that order our world and should be the moral compass for our lives. Such principles are the necessary foundation for any constitutional republic in which ethical citizens can live together in freedom and peace.
The era of the modern constitutional republic was ushered in with the founding of the United States, which etched into stone the notion that freedom and fundamental human rights come from a transcendent authority and not from any human institution. This is expressed in America’s Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
These ideals are similarly expressed in the Kenya constitution. Please remember that these are the principles and values upon which all constitutional republics are built.
Kenyans are spiritual people with deep commitment to their faith. During this time of difficulty, please turn to your spiritual leaders to find wisdom and guidance as to the right way to proceed.
We beseech all Kenyans to continue to work to resolve contentious situations in a manner that is true to those ideals without violence, without destruction of property, and in ways that do not create an environment that is unsafe for all Kenyans.
