‘There’s No Competition!’ – President Ruto Slams Church After Donation Rejection
On Sunday, December 1, President William Ruto dismissed the recent heated tensions between the state and the religious leader after the Catholic Church rejected his personal donation of Ksh2.6 to St Anna and Joakim parish in Soweto, Nairobi.
Ruto, speaking at an Interdenominational Church service in Kimana, Kajiado County, urged the church to shift its focus from perceiving the state as an enemy to one of progress.
“There is no need to throw words at each other, there is no need for all that, I want to ask these people to tone down on the verbal exchanges. They should relax, there is no competition,” Ruto stated.
Ruto also questioned religious leaders, citing a recent event in which the Catholic Church, led by Archbishop Philip Anyolo of the Nairobi Archdiocese, refused a combined contribution worth Ksh5.8 million from him and Governor Johnson Sakaja.
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” — Romans 12:18
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) December 1, 2024
At Kimana, Kajiado County for an Interdenominational Church Service. pic.twitter.com/ABAz9D2wjT
According to Ruto, recent negotiations between the government and the church over the option to make a personal contribution, particularly in light of current economic and social issues, revealed a non-existent dispute.
“There is no competition between the church and others, no competition between the church and the state as they are all the same thing,” Ruto stated.
“I am asking you Kenyans that this country is the same thing, therefore we cannot thrive on division. The church and the state must work together,” he added.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Catholic Church stated that they had returned all of the rejected money that Ruto had donated to them.
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This occurred despite the fact that the National Assembly’s majority leader, Kimani Ichung’wah, stated that the church was dishonest throughout the rejection discussion because all of the money had yet to be returned.
According to Ichung’wah, the Catholic Church was also dishonest when it told Kenyans that it had returned a portion of the money that had been pledged but not delivered to them.
“I want to insist that the money that Ruto contributed to the Catholic church has not been returned yet,” Ichung’wah stated.
“I want to ask elected leaders to respect elected leaders because they have also been chosen by God to serve Kenyans.”
‘There’s No Competition!’ – President Ruto Slams Church After Donation Rejection
