A section of political leaders and the clergy Thursday concurred on the need to have a national youth dialogue to
understand their predicaments in life.
The leaders who included Gatundu South MP, Moses Kuria, Mathira’s Rigathi Gachagua and Murang’a Women representative, Sabina Chege noted that youth are turning to weird behaviors mainly killing their love partners whenever they differ.
They were speaking at Gatukuyu PCEA church grounds, Mahiga ward, Othaya Sub County during the funeral of Ivy Wangechi, a Moi University medical student who was hacked to death by an alleged lover.
Hundreds of mourners, including Moi University fraternity thronged the grounds to bid farewell to Wangechi, 25, who speakers described as a brilliant student who had opted for a course that most of her colleagues shied from pursuing.
In his sermon, Rev. Simon Githiara Njuguna of the PCEA Makongeni in Thika, lamented the increasing number of deaths related to love affairs posing, “What is the cause of all these (deaths) in our country?”
“According to Economic survey of 2018, there was a steady increase of deaths related to love; spouses killing each other and friends killing one another. In 2014 there was 2,648, 2017 2,048 and 2018 2, 751 such deaths,” Njuguna said.
Rev. Njuguna attributed some of them to the moral decay of our society and failure to observe the tenets of the Bible and called for a progressive mentorship to undo the schemes of the devil.
He urged political leaders to engage the youths and find solutions to their problems to contain the trend.
In his condolences to the family, Gatundu South MP called for a national dialogue of youth adding that they were in a better position to understand their problems before leaders intervened.
The legislator disclosed he was engaging local universities student leadership to convene a national “youth to youth’ conversation to get to the bottom of the challenges bedeviling them.
Murang’a County MP called on the church to establish a youth department that would be specifically dealing with problems affecting young people.
She told the youth, “It is okay to fall in love and also okay to be rejected,” adding “there is nothing that is better
than life.”
Mathira MP censured the social media for sharing malicious information regarding people after they have passed on.
Gachagua reminded people that though social media platform is good, it should be used sensibly and not to torment the lives of the families affected.
Also present during the highly emotional burial were Nyeri Women Representative, Rahab Mukami, area MP, Gichuki Mugambi and a host of local MCAs.
By Mwangi Gaitha
