The Catholic Church in Kenya, which has openly criticized the president for failing to keep his pledges, has also returned the $40,000 President Ruto contributed to the institution.
The Kenya president during Sunday Mass at the Soweto Catholic Church in Nairobi, pledged to donate $40,000 to the construction of a priest’s residence.
He handed around 2.6 million Kenyan shillings ($20,000, £16,000) on the spot, and guaranteed the remainder later, as he also promised to provide the parish with a bus.
However, the church, which has been under pressure from young anti-tax protesters over allegations of being too political, later promised that the gift from the president would be returned.
This resulted from the publicity the donation had drawn, after which Kenyans put pressure on the church to return the money.
The Catholic Archbishop of Nairobi, Philip Anyolo, as reported by the BBC, said that the cash would be returned over “ethical concerns and the need to safeguard the Church from being used for political purposes”.
The Archbishop also turned down the president’s pledges and noted that the donation of 200,000 Kenyan shillings made by the Governor of Nairobi, Johnson Sakaja – who had attended the same service was also being given back.
“The Catholic Church strongly discourages the use of church events such as fundraisers and gatherings as platforms for political self-promotion,” Archbishop Anyolo said.
In the East African country where over 80% of the population identify as Christian, the long-standing relationships between churches and governmental institutions appear to be deteriorating.
Three years back, some of the country’s largest churches forbade politicians from accepting money in exchange for the pulpit during services.
During the mid-point of the year, young protesters accused churches of supporting the government when it chose to impose additional taxes, a bill which would later lead to one of the country’s deadliest protests.
Kenyans criticized churches for not backing them during the violent protests, which eventually gave rise to the social media hashtag #OccupyChurch.
