A section of Kenyans has embarked on a campaign to apply pressure on the Soweto Catholic Church to return a KSh 5 million gift from President William Ruto.
On Sunday, Ruto attended a church service in Nairobi where he pledged a KSh 5 million cash gift to Soweto Catholic to go towards the construction of the Father’s House.
“I have been informed by the chairman that you are putting up a house for the Father of this church, I am a builder. I am building affordable housing and others. So on Monday or Tuesday, I will give him Ksh 5 million towards that. However, I will follow up on that money. I will know if you misuse it,” President Ruto announced on Sunday.
Further, Ruto vowed to give an extra KSh 300,000 to purchase uniforms for one of the church’s liturgical groups.
Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja and President William Ruto at a church service in Soweto on November 17, 2024. PHOTO/ Kimani Ichungwah.
The President’s generous donation appears to have angered a large section of Kenyans, who have now resorted to sending a communication to Archbishop Philip Anyolo to compel him to reject Ruto’s gift.
“I have written to Archbishop Philip Anyolo to demand that the KES 5.3 million looted funds be returned to the rightful owners. Catholic faithful please assist,” one social media user announced on Monday, with tens of others following suit by sending an email to the archbishop.
Images of emails obtained by Kenyans.co.ke revealed a similar trend , as the archbishop’s email was flooded with messages detailing reasons why the cash donation needed to be returned.
While some Kenyans claimed that a church receiving cash donations from politicians was a conflict of interest, others theorized that the Kenya Kwanza government was keen on mitigating a scathing onslaught from the church in recent days.
On Thursday, Catholic bishops gained nationwide attention after openly criticising the Kenya Kwanza government over alleged broken promises.
Led by the Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Archbishop Maurice Muhatia, the bishops accused the government of failing to keep its election pledges while completely overlooking ordinary Kenyans’ concerns.
Since then, other stakeholders of the church have come forth to criticise the government, including The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), under the leadership of Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit.
Sapit, in a strong-worded statement on Tuesday, called on the national government to address pressing issues, while operating with transparency, accountability, and urgent interventions to address challenges facing Kenyans.
Ruto’s generous donation came just months after he banned all state officers and government officials from participating in harambees and fundraisers.
He announced the ban at State House on July 7, 2024, following widespread public uproar and concerns about the looting of public coffers.
A photo collage of Archbishop of The Anglican Church of Kenya, Jackson Ole Sapit (left) and President William Ruto
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