JK calls on clergy to preach peace, unity

President Jakaya Kikwete has implored religious leaders in the country to preach messages of peace and unity saying the two aspects are vital for social welfare development as well as national economic growth.

The President was speaking over the weekend during the commemoration of 100 years of the Roman Catholic Church, Lugoba Parish, in Coast region.

The president said there are elements seeking to disrupt the country’s peace and some have succeeded in small isolated cases that have caused loss of property and life.

” I call on religious leaders to admonish their congregations to beware of people who seek to break the country’s peace and unity,” the president told the gathering.

“I have said it previously and now I repeat it, religious leaders have a unique leadership position and their messages are adhered to by communities countrywide,” he said calling on the clergy to use this leadership role to guide the masses towards progressive development and away from destructive chaos.

Other than the religious leaders, president Kikwete called on the general community to steer away from violence and other forms of social order disruption that threaten the individual’s wellbeing as well as that of the nation as a whole.

He reminded the country that peace and unity in the country is everyone’s responsibility and all must play their part in ensuring the nation maintains a tranquil environment within and around its borders.

The president underscored the position of religious leaders in the community and again bid for the church as well as other spiritual institutions to tend their ‘flock’ towards peaceful green pastures. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN