Catholic bishops train guns on CS Moses Kuria over GMO remarks
Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops chairman Anthony Muheria. He has called on Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria to apologise over his remarks on GMOs.
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has asked Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria to offer a public apology over his utterances on the importation of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) maize.
Speaking at Our Lady of Consolata Cathedral, Nyeri Archbishop Anthony Muheria said the CS remarks that Kenyans could still die with or without GMOs, were not only distasteful but also disrespectful to people suffering from hunger and high cost of living.
“What the Cabinet Secretary said was more than a joke because one cannot trivialize death and suffering. We are urging him to engage Kenyans and not spite them,” he said.
Archbishop Muheria, who is the Social Communications chair at KCCB, called for a ‘sober’ engagement and debate on the importation of GMOs “as acclaimed by the government- one that is devoid of emotions but one that is informed by scientific evidence.”
“All experts in food matters should put their minds together so that they can let us know what is GMO and how we should relate with it,” he said.
He further said there should be a holistic and robust discussion on what should be done to make the country food secure as a long term goal.
10 million bags
“To enhance food security for this country, there should be a discussion on improvement in agriculture method, sustained financial support and how to minimize post-harvest losses,” he added.
Last week, CS Kuria announced the government intends to import about 10 million bags of GMO maize to counter the throes of hunger in about 24 counties.
He said there were a hundredfold things competing to kill Kenyans and there would be no problem adding GMOs to the list.
His utterances irked many Kenyans.
“Being in this country, you are a candidate for death and because there are many things competing to kill you in this country, there is nothing wrong with adding GMO to that list,” Mr Kuria said.
Archbishop Muheria urged the government to consider embracing a multi-sectoral approach in relief food distribution to ensure it benefits the right people.
He said the current approach is sometimes marred by corruption making deserving Kenyans to miss the much needed relief food.
