President William Ruto's senior economic advisor, Moses Kuria has sided with the Catholic church following its decision to reject President William Ruto's donations.
In a statement on Tuesday, November 19, Kuria noted that as a Roman Catholic, he believes that the church is always right.
"My two rules as a Roman Catholic who has gone through the Catechism process from Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Altar Boy to confirmation (As Francis) by the late Michael Cardinal Otunga of Kibabii. Rule Number 1 - The Catholic Church is always right. Rule Number 2- In case the Catholic Church is wrong refer to Rule Number 1," he said.
This comes at a time when a section of politicians allied to Ruto have called out the church for rejecting the donations made by the president.
Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi on Tuesday defended Ruto, arguing that church leaders are the ones who approach them to assist in raising funds for various projects.
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"Those local pastors and believers are the ones who make contributions until some of them run away because they have to contribute every Sunday. I wonder why someone would oppose help being offered in the local churches," he said.
Sudi maintained that politicians would continue giving to the church as they are also part of the body of Christ, also calling on church leaders to forgive them for any wrongdoings.
"I can see that the Bishops are unhappy and they now want to refund the money donated to the church. I want to ask for forgiveness because sometimes we go straight to the local churches without going through them," he stated.
On Monday, Metropolitan Archbishop Most Rev. Philip Anyolo said Soweto Catholic Church will refund donations made by Ruto and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.
In a statement, he said the donations were made in violation of the Public Fundraising Appeals Bill.
"Consequently, the donations made to Soweto Catholic Church on Sunday, 17th November 2024, are in violation of these directives and the law. These include the Governor of Nairobi’s donation of KSh 200,000 to the parish choir and Parish Missionary Council (PMC); the President’s donation of KSh 600,000 to the choir and PMC; and KSh 2 million for the construction of the Fathers’ house. These funds will be refunded to the respective donors. Furthermore, the promised additional KSh 3 million for the construction of the Fathers’ house, as well as the donation of a parish bus by the President, are hereby declined," the statement read.
