The National Alliance of registered Churches in the country has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to allow children below 13 years to attend Sunday schools.
The state last month barred children below 13 years and elderly persons above 58 years from attending church services in the war against Covid-19.
The president said that the two age groups are vulnerable to the virus that has so far claimed hundreds of people globally.
Addressing the press in Bungoma town on Tuesday, the Alliance’s Chairman, Bishop Samuel Welimo said that as a church they want children back to churches so as to attend Sunday service as one way of being taught how to keep distancing and sanitization against Covid-19.
This will help them to know and create awareness on social distancing by the time schools will reopen.
Welimo said that children should be allowed to attend Sunday service the same way the Education Cabinet Secretary, Prof. George Magoha has proposed the children to be taught in the community where they come from.
“We can’t leave children in homes while we attend church services because they should learn from us and they should be taught in how to sanitize, wash hands and keep social distance as ways of combating Covid-19,” he said.
He further noted that the government should allocate some funds to churches through CDF to help pastors as they execute their duties.
“The government is only concentrating on other organizations forgetting the church as churches should be funded too,” he said.
He emphasized that nothing can wipe away this pandemic except the intervention of God himself.
“God uses his servants for this reason I ask the State to give unlimited freedom to places of worship for healing of this nation and the whole world,” he said.
He regretted that the state was putting tough rules on the church concerning the number of people to attend church services and limited time duration of one hour.
By Maureen Imbayi
