The Central Office of PROCMURA in Nairobi hosted the 2026 European Liaison Committee (ELC) meeting, which brought together church leaders and ecumenical partners from Africa and Europe to reflect on PROCMURA’s work, strengthen partnerships between PROCMURA and various partner organisations, and engage with the contextual realities shaping PROCMURA’s work across the continent. Apart from providing a platform to explore new opportunities for collaboration and partnerships, the ELC meeting creates a space for reflection on PROCMURA’s strategic direction, its field presence at the grassroots across Africa, and addressing the emerging pressures facing African churches in the growing religiously plural contexts across Africa.

_{Senior representatives from PROCMURA's partner organisations and church leaders in a group photo with the organisation's leadership.}

The 2026 European Liaison Committee meeting of PROCMURA, held in Nairobi after a long time, took place at a time when many of PROCMURA’s constituencies across Africa are navigating complex religious, social, political, and economic pressures that inevitably shape relations between the two largest religious communities, Christians and Muslims.

The meeting was formally opened by the General Adviser of PROCMURA, Bishop Dr. Nathan Samwini, who situated it within PROCMURA’s work and calendar, spanning the organisation’s six decades of impactful work across Africa. He reminded the various stakeholders that PROCMURA was born out of the African Church’s encounter with religious plurality and remains accountable to that context today, advocating for constructive relations between Christian and Muslim communities. He emphasised that Christian–Muslim relations in Africa cannot be approached through borrowed assumptions or distant analysis, but day-to-day realities, lived experience, and theological depths that continue to frame the relationship between these two main religious communities. 

_{The General Adviser of PROCMURA, Bishop Dr. Nathan Samwini, delivering his opening remarks.} 

This year’s ELC was distinctive in many ways, including in its elaborate opening ceremony, which brought together a broad range of ecumenical organisations, mostly those headquartered in and around Nairobi. Representatives delivered greetings and goodwill messages on behalf of their churches and institutions, reaffirming their commitment to supporting PROCMURA’s strategic work across Africa. Several partners emphasised that their relationship with PROCMURA is not transactional but rooted in shared ecclesial responsibility. The ceremony set a tone of mutual respect and renewed solidarity.

_{The Vice Chancellor of St. Paul's University, Kenya, Prof. Esther Mombo, bringing her institution's greetings and goodwill message during the opening ceremony.}

In her welcome remarks, the Team Leader of PROCMURA, Ms Joy Wandabwa, welcomed the delegates on behalf of the organisation and Secretariat sitting at the Central Office of PROCMURA in Nairobi and expressed appreciation for partners' continued support over the years. She noted that hosting the meeting in Nairobi allowed the partners and other stakeholders to engage more directly with the operational realities of PROCMURA’s work and to hear from constituencies across the four regions in which the organisation operates - Anglophone and Francophone West Africa, Central Africa and East and Southern Africa regions. She encouraged open and honest exchanges that would strengthen both accountability and collaboration.

_{Ms. Joy Wandabwa welcoming Church leaders and partners from across Africa and Europe to the 2026 ELC meeting.} 

The meeting was coordinated and co-chaired by Rev. Dr. Andrew Ashdown of the Methodist Church in Britain and the Chairperson of PROCMURA’s European Partners, and Rev. Robert Goyek, Chairperson of PROCMURA. Their joint leadership reflected the shared ownership of the ELC process. Throughout the sessions, they guided deliberations with careful attention to both strategic direction and partnership dynamics, ensuring that all strategic deliberations were examined critically.

_{Rev. Dr. Andrew Ashdown moderating a session during the official ELC meeting.}

The ELC platform has long served as a space for structured engagement between PROCMURA and its partners, as reflected in previous gatherings. In Nairobi, however, the composition of delegates and the expanded format enabled a deeper assessment of PROCMURA’s work across twenty-two African countries and a platform for a more expanded network of collaborations.

_{PROCMURA senior management, European partners of PROCMURA and representatives from the ecumenical organisation pose for a group photo after the opening ceremony of the 2026 ELC meeting at the PROCMURA Central Office in Nairobi.}

Senior church leaders from Nigeria and Cameroon provided contextual analyses that grounded discussions in current realities. The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Nigeria, Bishop Evans Onyemara; the Bishop of Kano Diocese of The Church of Nigeria, The Rt Rev Zakka Nyam; and the Chairperson of PEROCMURA, Rev Robert Goyek, offered reflections shaped by their pastoral and national experiences. They highlighted Africa’s longstanding tradition of Christian–Muslim coexistence, built over generations of shared community life. At the same time, they drew attention to rising tensions linked to political instability, economic inequality, youth unemployment, corruption, and the deliberate manipulation of religion for violent ends. Their contributions underscored that the pressures facing interreligious relations are intertwined with broader governance and socioeconomic challenges.

_{The Bishop of Kano Diocese of The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), The Rt. Rev Zakka Nyam, making his presentation on the contextual analysis of Christian-Muslim relations and peace and security in Nigeria.}

Subsequent discussions were grounded and candid, with delegates examining how PROCMURA’s training, research, grassroots engagement, and church accompaniment respond to these shifting contexts. There was a shared conviction that the Church in Africa must remain equipped to engage with the Muslim community with theological integrity while addressing the social factors that fuel suspicion and division in the spirit of building a cohesive and inclusive continent of Africa.

_{The Chairperson of PROCMURA, Rev. Robert Goyek (centre), having a chat with a section of the partners during a break.}

A significant component of the meeting was the field visit to Turkana in northern Kenya. Delegates travelled to Lokichar and Kainuk to visit the Women and Youth Empowerment Centres established in partnership with the Reformed Church of East Africa. The visit provided a practical demonstration of how PROCMURA’s approach to Christian–Muslim relations intersects with livelihood support and community resilience in regions affected by conflict, extreme weather conditions, and limited economic opportunities.

Women at the centres sew school uniforms and produce reusable sanitary pads, generating income that helps stabilise households and support girls’ education. Young people receive training in computer literacy and digital skills, expanding their opportunities in a county where formal employment remains scarce. Conversations with trainees and local leaders indicate steady progress built on practical skills and community ownership. For many delegates, the visit clarified how strategic discussions at the continental level translate into concrete change at the grassroots level.

During the plenary sessions and informal engagements, partners expressed strong solidarity with PROCMURA’s mandate, especially in empowering the church in Africa on matters of Christian-Muslim relations. There was consensus on the need to increase PROCMURA’s visibility within African church networks, strengthen communication and advocacy, and mobilise more local resources to complement international support. Participants also agreed to review the structure and name of the European Liaison Committee to reflect the broader global participation now characterising the platform.

By the conclusion of the Nairobi meeting, there was a renewed appreciation of PROCMURA’s impactful work across the continent of Africa, its identity as the only Pan-African Christian organisation that has been, over the years, advocating for constructive Christian-Muslim relations in Africa and addressing contextual realities that continue to come up in that space every other day.  The conversations reinforced that the organisation’s relevance lies not in abstract discourse but in sustained accompaniment of churches and communities navigating complex environments. The solidarity expressed in Nairobi affirmed that this work remains a shared responsibility across continents, anchored in the conviction that peaceful coexistence in Africa requires informed, consistent, and locally grounded engagement.