File image of Pastor Dorcas Rigathi.
Clergy from the Christian and Muslim faith on Thursday held a meeting with the spouse of the Deputy President Pastor Dorcas Rigathi at a local hotel on the fourth day of her working visit in Kilifi County.
The more than 60 clergy, led by Bishop Joseph Maisha and Sheikh Ustadh Hassan had a lengthy discussion on the state of the vulnerable in the County.
Pastor Dorcas raised her concerns about the killing of the elderly by the youth on suspicion of them being witches.
“The elderly, who have grey hair, dye their hair because the youth call their elderly fathers and mothers witches. Our children are breaking the commandments of God, and the law of the land,” said Pastor Dorcas.
She pointed to the high number of widows in the county, saying that the men were dying at a high rate.
The office of the spouse of the Deputy President (OSDP) held widows meeting in Gede where 700 widows were expected to attend, but more than 2,000 attended.
A trailer load of foodstuffs was distributed to the widows who complained of the deteriorating farming in the region, saying their mangoes were rotting in the shamba, the korosho market destroyed by hawking, and cotton growing no longer in existence.
Pastor Dorcas urged the clergy not to lose hope but to engage the widows, orphans, and those with addictions and disabilities through their places of worship.
“Let us do the work God called us to do and engage our people through reaching out to them in the streets, mentorship, and discipleship,” said Pastor Dorcas.
She added that the psychosocial spiritual model of rehabilitation was working with hundreds rehabilitated from alcohol, drugs, and substances including some from the drug dens of Shimanzi in Mombasa.
Pastor Dorcas also told the clergy to watch out against Western philosophies that were advocating for same-sex marriage.
“Philosophies from abroad tell us women to marry women, and men to marry men. If we are not careful as the clergy, and watch this as it happens, we shall be judged harshly,” she said.
