Kenyans go into the Easter season amidst growing fears that the bitterly divided coalition government could collapse and plunge the country into worse violence than was witnessed last year.

Church leaders on Thursday appealed to Kenyans not to allow politicians to divide them after the coalition partners, Party of National Unity (PNU) and Orange Democratic Movement, announced they will be holding rallies around the country to mobilize supporters.

Cardinal John Njue, the chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference, asked President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to sit down together and solve their differences. A meeting to sort out coalition disputes over power aborted last Saturday.

Njue said threats, rallies and demonstrations would not solve the coalition disputes but are likely to inflame the emotions of the citizens.

The cardinal urged the faithful to pray for the nation, warning that "it will be a pity if the country went back to where it was" after the 2007 elections. He said the church will use every means available to try to get Kibaki and Odinga to solve their differences peacefully.

Meanwhile, the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) which brings together Protestant and evangelical churches, said the way President Kibaki and Odinga are leading the country "lacks vision and reflects irresponsibility and indiscipline."

"It is quite tragic that in Kenya today, we have people who are holding positions but are completely devoid of leadership acumen. The current bickering and use of foul language, the inability by coalition government to hold a meeting to discuss the challenges facing Kenya and the level of disrespect for and between the principal leaders is an indication that our political leaders are working hard to destroy this country."

NCCK repeated its call for fresh elections. "We voted in these leaders, let us now arise and demand an opportunity to change our national public managers."

The protestant and evangelical leaders also berated Kenyans for the mess the country is in. "We have not accepted that the leaders we chose have failed us dismally, and instead of ejecting them from positions of leadership we have shed innocent blood to protect them. How long will it take us to genuinely cry for alternative nationally minded and motivated leadership?"

NCCK warned Kenyans against the rallies planned by politicians. "Very Soon, political rallies will be held in your localities. Be very careful when you participate in those rallies and remember that political rallies do not solve leadership problems. They actually make the situation worse, as we learned in 2007."