NAIROBI (KENYA)
The East African [Nairobi, Kenya]
November 15, 2024
By Otieno Otieno
Kenyan President William Ruto’s administration looked unsettled by a statement by the influential Catholic bishops on Thursday criticising its tax policies, human rights violations and corruption.
The 26 bishops, under their lobby group the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), voiced concerns about a State-sponsored campaign of abductions, enforced disappearances and torture of persons linked to the youth-led anti-tax protests in June and July that forced the President to withdraw this year’s Finance Bill and disband his Cabinet.
They also condemned what they termed ‘a culture of lies’ among the country’s ruling elite, citing a number of Dr Ruto’s unfulfilled election campaign promises slightly over two years since he took office in September 2022.
Their statement immediately drew frantic reactions from senior administration figures, including the President, issuing statements to counter the scathing attack by the clergy.
“I want to urge everybody, including the clergy, that even as we engage in matter of public discourse and matters of great importance to Kenyans, we have to be careful to be factual lest we become victims of what we accuse others of doing,” Dr Ruto said during the inaugural graduation ceremony at Nairobi-based Tangaza University, which is affiliated with the Catholic Church, on Friday.
The stinging public criticism by the Catholic bishops is particularly unsettling for President Ruto due to the respect they command as a moral voice in society and the influence of the Catholic Church in Kenya.
According the 2019 census data, there are about 10 million Catholics in Kenya, representing 20.4 per cent of those who identify themselves as Christians in Kenya.
The Catholic Church’s influence, however, goes beyond its congregation owing to its wide investment footprint in education, healthcare and other social programmes. Official data shows that faith-based organisations contribute about 30 per cent of the healthcare coverage in Kenya.
Unlike political rivals or some sections of civil society, the clergy are also an awkward critic for any government because it is difficult to contain them using the popular Kenyan establishment playbook.
The State propaganda machinery, for instance, faces difficulty trying to profile them ethnically or racially and isolating them.
Dr Ruto, who is facing rebellion in parts of his 2022 political strongholds after the recent impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua last month, will also be wary of a direct confrontation with the church, which was largely seen to back his candidature but has looked hostile lately.
His administration’s ties with the church has severely deteriorated in recent months over the messy transition to a new social health insurance scheme, which has left faith-based hospitals claiming billions of shillings in outstanding debt from the government.