Trustees call crisis talks over NCCK row

The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) will hold a trustees meeting to solve the impasse over the appointment of a new general secretary to succeed Rev Peter Canon Karanja.

Murang’a County Assembly clerk Chris Kinyanjui was elected general secretary at a stormy meeting that triggered rebellion in NCCK. It was a narrow win of 40 against 36 votes.

In a letter seen by Sunday Standard dated August 8 to all NCCK trustees, the invitation, which was termed urgent, was in regard to the decision to appoint the new general secretary.

“As you are aware, various protest letters on the above have been received and a letter from lawyers instructed by protesters to sue the council. This is to invite you to a meeting at Ufungamano House on August 9 at 7am. You are advised to arrive today on August 8, and rest ahead of the meeting,” read the letter signed by Rev Karanja.

Reached for a comment on the matter, the outgoing NCCK secretary general said: “There is no story here. The meeting was for the trustees not for the media and it's ongoing. We may call media for a press conference maybe at the end of the month to talk about the issue at hand.”

Eight churches have claimed that due process was not followed in the appointment of the new secretary general.

“The recruitment was porous and there were many unanswered questions that led to the conclusion that the process was entirely faulty and the feeble rule of the minority took precedent over prescribed laws and procedure,” reads a petition seen by the Sunday Standard.

The petition, which was copied to all heads of NCCK member churches and more than 10 partners, lists 19 points that question the credibility of the process.

The issues raised include the manner in which the search committee conducted itself, conduct of the executive committee and the criteria of assessment of the applicants.