Tuesday, November 19, 2024 – In an interesting turn of events, the Catholic Church has rejected President William Ruto and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja's Ksh5.8 million donations to the Catholic Church in Soweto.
This comes as the fallout from the Catholic Bishop's strong criticism of President Ruto last week continues to ruffle political feathers.
During a church service on
Sunday, Ruto donated Ksh600,000 to Soweto Catholic church in Nairobi for choir
members and Ksh2 million that would be used to construct the father’s house.
The Head of State further
promised to donate an additional Ksh3 million that would be channeled to the
church’s account to purchase a church bus. During the event, Governor Sakaja
donated Ksh200,000 to the same church.
However, Nairobi Archbishop
Philip Anyolo rejected the donation and ordered it returned to Ruto and Sakaja.
He noted that the donations made
by the two senior government officials contravened the Public Fundraising
Appeals Bill 2024 which states that any person who solicits or receives money
or a benefit conducts a fundraising appeal regardless of whether the
representation made was direct or indirect.
He asserted that the Catholic
bishops have consistently maintained a firm stance on politicians donating
money to churches, due to ethical concerns and the need to safeguard the church
from being used for political purposes.
In his statement, the archbishop
accused a section of politicians of using church events such as fundraisers and
gatherings as platforms for political self-promotion.
He went ahead to caution the
political class to refrain from turning the pulpit into a stage for political
rhetoric, especially actions that undermine the sanctity of worship spaces.
While declining the donations,
Bishop Anyolo advised the Head of State to fulfill the demands made by the Kenya
Conference of Catholic Bishops including ending political wrangles,
violations of human rights, the culture of lies, unfulfilled promises, and
misplaced priorities.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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