Archbishop Jackson Nasoore Ole Sapit, Primate of the Anglican Church of Kenya, presents his 2021 Easter message to the nation. 

Preamble

We send you greetings and goodwill messages during this Easter. It is the second time in a row that we are unable to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in the normal way. We condole with families that have lost their loved ones especially due to coronavirus. Our prayers are with the sick and the infected. My God grant you help and quick recovery. The virus has indeed caused great suffering to us all, disrupting lives and livelihoods. We encourage all to look up to God who is able to revive our hope and can turn around our difficult circumstances. May we be encouraged by God's assurance given to us in the words of Isaiah 41:10;

Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

We encourage you to put your hope in God who alone is in control of these hard times. In him, he brought back Jesus from death to life, we have hope that we too shall pass from death to life, and enjoy the abundant life God offers to all who follow him.

Taking cognizance of the suffering and hardship that face our people, we make the following observations and recommendations; 

COVID-19

We commend the government's efforts in addressing the COVID-19 public health crisis but also recognize that the government's effort has been tried and tested and stretched to the limit. In this regard, we urge the government:

1. To do everything within its power to secure vaccine and urgently rollout a comprehensive vaccination program throughout the country.
2. To review the current lockdown instituted in five counties and provide safety nets in the form of relief programs or tax breaks to cushion the most vulnerable members of our society who are extremely distressed.
3. To ensure prudent appropriation of billions allocated to the Health sector and increase bed capacities in County and referral hospitals, urgently improve the supply and adequate availability of oxygen tanks, increased uptake in testing, and ICU facilities.
4. We urge our people to take personal responsibility and strictly adhere to all safety protocols and take advantage of available vaccination opportunities.