Politics and policy
Pope Francis waves to faithful upon his arrival on St Peter's square at
the Vatican. He will hold bilateral talks and meet leaders from all
religious faiths on his maiden visit to Kenya in November. PHOTO | FILE
|
AFP
By JEREMIAH KIPLANG’AT, jkiplangat@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- The venues of the series of meetings were not revealed with Mr Esipisu saying the Catholic Church will provide more details later.
- This is also Pope Francis' first visit to Africa with State House saying Kenya was honoured to be the first country he will be visiting on the continent.
Pope Francis will address the nation in addition to
holding bilateral talks during his maiden visit to Kenya in November, a
detailed itinerary released by State House on Friday indicates.
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A number of youth leaders will be selected to have a
meeting him during the three-day visit billed as a timely endorsement
to the country that has suffered deadly terrorist attacks by Al Shabaab
over the last one year.
The Pope was among the world leaders who condemned the Garissa University College terror attack in April.
“During his 3-day state visit, the Holy Father will
hold bilateral discussions with President Kenyatta and his government,
before meeting senior officials at the United Nations Environmental
Programme and addressing members of the diplomatic corps,” said the
statement sent by State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu.
The venues of the series of meetings were not
revealed with Mr Esipisu saying the Catholic Church would provide more
details later.
Pope Francis is the 266th holder of the revered and
topmost religious office in the Catholic Church. He will be the second
Pope to come to Kenya after John Paul II's visit in 1995.
Tolerance and inclusivity
During his visit he will seek to bring together
leaders from different faiths as has been the norm in the continents has
has visited so far.
“In keeping with the theme of tolerance and
inclusivity, the Holy Father’s itinerary will include an interreligious
meeting with Christian, Muslim, Hindu and traditional leaders. Pope
Francis will also give a general address to Kenyans, meet with a number
of youth and celebrate Mass,” added State House spokesperson.
This is the first time the Pope will be coming to
Africa and State House yesterday said it Kenya was honoured to be the
first country he will be visiting on the continent.
“Kenya is deeply honoured to be the country where
His Holiness makes his first landing on the continent. As a nation,
Kenya thanks God for the opportunity to host a man who is the spiritual
leader of a billion Catholics, and an inspiration to billions of others
right across the world,” said Mr Esipisu.
The visit follows another high-profile visit by US
President Barack Obama in July, who came to for the Global
Entrepreneurship Summit but used the occasion to address the nation in
addition to holding bilateral talks with his Kenyan counterpart.
The meeting was considered a huge endorsement to
the country as it came just under three months after the Garissa attack
that led to massacre of 148 people.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has also been to the country after the attack.
Further, Kenya is also hosting the World Trade
Organisation meeting in December and Foreign affairs Cabinet Secretary
Amina Mohammed told senators on Thursday that Kenya was fully prepared
for it.
Nairobi will also host the first Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD) to be held in Africa later in
the year.
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