Catholic Church Rejects $40,000 Donated By President

President William Ruto offered a donation of roughly $40,000 (£32,000), but the Catholic Church in Kenya turned it down.
During Sunday’s Mass at the Soweto Catholic Church in Nairobi’s capital, he presented the funds to the choir as a gift and to help build a priest’s home.
The contribution came after Catholic bishops recently criticized the government for not keeping its election pledges.
Young anti-tax demonstrators have put pressure on churches this year, accusing them of having too close ties to politicians.

The Catholic Church was urged by many Kenyans to reject Ruto’s widely reported donation on Sunday.
The president promised to provide a bus for the parish and gave about 2.6 million Kenyan shillings ($20,000, £16,000) in cash, with the remaining funds to be pledged later.
According to Philip Anyolo, the Catholic Archbishop of Nairobi, “ethical concerns and the need to safeguard the Church from being used for political purposes” are the reasons why the money will be returned.
He also declined his other promises, stating that 200,000 Kenyan shillings that Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, who was present at the service, had donated was being returned.

“The Catholic Church strongly discourages the use of church events such as fundraisers and gatherings as platforms for political self-promotion,” Archbishop Anyolo said.

He added that such donations violated both Kenyan law and church directives.
In a nation where over 80% of people identify as Christian, the long-standing relationships between churches and political institutions appear to be eroding.
Established churches forbade politicians from accepting donations in exchange for the pulpit during services three years ago.
However, young protesters accused the churches of supporting the government when it decided to impose new taxes earlier this year, indicating that the relationship was still seen as close.

Many criticized the churches for not supporting them during the deadly protests that broke out in response to the proposed tax hikes, using the social media hashtag #OccupyChurch.
President Ruto’s administration was forced to rescind the contentious finance bill in July due to the outcry.
The government was accused of fostering a “culture of lies” by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, which speaks for all of the nation’s Catholic bishops, last week.
In a damning declaration, it also brought up issues of unemployment, human rights violations, corruption, overtaxation, and a “crumbling” healthcare and education system.

“Despite the calmness we are experiencing, there is a lot of anxiety and most people are losing trust in the government,” it said.

President Ruto in his response seemingly hit back at the clergy, saying “we must be careful to give factual information lest we become victims of the things we accuse others of doing”.

In a similar development, a senator allied to government, Aaron Cheruiyot, also accused the church of “misinformation”, adding that the “clergy must avoid being purveyors of propaganda, fake news and falsehoods”.

According to government statistics, there are an estimated 10 million Catholic Christians in Kenya, or roughly 20% of the country’s total population.
Other Christians are members of various denominations and evangelical churches, such as the Anglican Church of Kenya, which has supported the Catholic Church’s stance.

According to Anglican Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit, many Kenyans’ sentiments were mirrored by the Catholic bishops.

“Calling church leaders names or dismissing the bishops’ statement as ‘misleading, erroneous and false,’ is itself dishonest,” he said.

“The [Catholic] bishops have spoken the minds of Kenyans and faithfully expressed the truth as things are on the ground,” he added.