Kenyan Catholic Church calls out Ruto on rights abuse, graft
Archbishop Maurice Muhatia (seated centre) along with other members of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops at a press briefing in Nairobi on November 14, 2024.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Kenyan president William Ruto’s administration looked unsettled by a statement by the influential Catholic bishops 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 Finance Bill 2024 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 matters 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.
Education and Health ministers and the Inspector-General of Police earlier sent out press releases, within hours of the bishops’ news conference on Thursday, terming the clergy’s statement misleading.
Some of the president’s more hawkish political allies also joined the chorus, accusing the bishops of playing partisan politics.
It is important to point out, however, that similar concerns about governance failures and human rights abuses under the current administration have been raised by other independent voices, including civil society groups, foreign diplomats in Nairobi and the US State Department.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was reported to have taken issue with the reports of abductions, enforced disappearances and torture in Kenya in a telephone call with President Ruto on November 7.
Nine ambassadors and high commissioners representing European nations in Kenya also issued a statement on October 31, calling for transparent investigations into the human rights violations and individuals to be held accountable.
Dr Ruto campaigned on the platform of economic transformation and protection of human rights, including ending extra-judicial killings by police that were widespread under his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.
But 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 to the 2019 census data, there are about 10 million Catholics in Kenya, representing 20.4 percent 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 percent 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.
On Thursday, a member of parliament close to the president faced a backlash on social media after he singled out one of the Catholic bishops for attack based on his ethnicity.
Dr Ruto, who is currently 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 relationship 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.
Kenyan president William Ruto’s administration looked unsettled by a statement by the influential Catholic bishops 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 Finance Bill 2024 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 matters 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.
Education and Health ministers and the Inspector-General of Police earlier sent out press releases, within hours of the bishops’ news conference on Thursday, terming the clergy’s statement misleading.
Some of the president’s more hawkish political allies also joined the chorus, accusing the bishops of playing partisan politics.
It is important to point out, however, that similar concerns about governance failures and human rights abuses under the current administration have been raised by other independent voices, including civil society groups, foreign diplomats in Nairobi and the US State Department.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was reported to have taken issue with the reports of abductions, enforced disappearances and torture in Kenya in a telephone call with President Ruto on November 7.
Nine ambassadors and high commissioners representing European nations in Kenya also issued a statement on October 31, calling for transparent investigations into the human rights violations and individuals to be held accountable.
Dr Ruto campaigned on the platform of economic transformation and protection of human rights, including ending extra-judicial killings by police that were widespread under his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.
But 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 to the 2019 census data, there are about 10 million Catholics in Kenya, representing 20.4 percent 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 percent 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.
On Thursday, a member of parliament close to the president faced a backlash on social media after he singled out one of the Catholic bishops for attack based on his ethnicity.
Dr Ruto, who is currently 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 relationship 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.