NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 29 – Members of Parliament have hit out at churches for criticizing them when giving out donations even as they implement their mandate
Debate arose in the house when Minority Leader Junet Mohamed told off certain quarters including religious leaders for castigating Parliament insisting, they are not elected by accident and ought to be treated with respect.
“We respect our religious leaders because they are the people who guide us spiritually. But politics is different from religion. If you think there’s an issue that you are not happy with, as a leader of another sector, address Members of Parliament with dignity and decorum, don’t belittle them. Don’t make it as though they are nobodies,” Mohamed said.
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah faulted the church for focusing on political matters instead of the moral fabric of society which has led to vices like femicides.
“The only reason you see men doing the kind of bad things they are doing to young girls, it’s because there’s something we lost in our moral upbringing, not just as men but as a society. But that is the work of the church, where the church is. I do not see the church in those issues,” Ichung’wah expressed.
The Kikuyu MP pointed out that politicians will not be dissuaded from giving donations even after the Catholic church returned Sh5.6 million donated by President William Ruto to buld the Soweto Catholic Church.
He also offered the money towards the building of a priest’s house and as a gift to the choir during the Mass.
“We do not give in church to please the bishop, the moderator, the reverend, not even the congregations in our churches. We do it because the Bible tells us do good and communicate because it is pleasing to God. I never go to church to please my bishop,” Ichungwah averred.
Majority Whip Sylvanus Osoro scoffed at the religious institutions for turning a blind eye to the achievement by the House in terms of pushing legislation to address the societal concerns in the country.
“It is very sad that this House has actually been turned as a punching bag and people demonise everything about this House. That where we pass laws that pertains to the common man, which we actually do very well and sometimes sitting up to late in the night, the media and even Members of the clergy do not raise concerns,” Osoro remarked.
Minority Whip Millie Odhiambo affirmed that the Church indeed has a role on calling out evils in the society however the current struggles the country is facing is their own burden having been partisan in the elections and labeling President Ruto as the ‘ordained’ leader.
“Did the Members of Parliament bring this, no. The church brought it upon themselves, and they brought upon themselves that if you look at the last election, the church was very partisan. The church classified my party leader a demon and a devil and they are not God because only God knows the heart of man,” she remarked.
Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie urged the church to desist from pointing fingers at the President and various institutions including Parliament.
“And we are not calling upon someone to respect Kiarie or to respect President Ruto. You might have your differences with President Ruto but you cannot sacrilege the institution of Presidency. The institute of Parliament is sacrilegious to have an affront like the one we are seeing from the leaders of the Clergy,” he said.
The long ties between churches and political institutions – in a country where more than 80% of the population are Christian – seem to be fraying.
There has been growing public criticism from church leaders, who have questioned his administration’s governance, highlighting areas where they believe the government has fallen short
The clergy, once accused of blindly supporting the administration, have recently become more vocal in their critique.
Church leaders have expressed disapproval of Ruto’s tax policies, arguing that they are exacerbating economic hardships for citizens.
They have also raised concerns about the confusion surrounding the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Additionally, the clergy have faulted security agencies for their handling of abductions, femicides, and extrajudicial killings that have recently plagued the country.
Source: capitalfm
