Why Building a Church at State House is Wrong - Reuben Kigame

Renowned gospel musician and presidential aspirant Reuben Kigame has opposed plans to construct a church at State House.

Speaking in an interview on Wednesday, September 3, Kigame termed the idea misguided, arguing that State House should not be turned into a religious hub.

"I would not allow the construction of a church at State House. In principle, it is wrong, economically it is wrong, in terms of policy it is wrong, in terms of Christianity itself it is wrong because the president is not the bishop of a country and State House is not the religious centre of a country.

"The Ksh1.2 billion, whether it is our taxes or donations, should also have the logic of meeting real felt needs," he said.

Kigame went further to advise President William Ruto to redirect his priorities toward tackling corruption and addressing the plight of the youth instead of building religious monuments at the seat of power.

"If I were to advise President Ruto today, I would say, Mr President, I would allow you to continue being a president if you keep your promises. I would not even bother running; I would probably ask you to run if you deal with graft.

"I would ask you to continue being the President and maybe run for a second term if you repent for killing our children and ordering police to shoot in the foot. I would probably listen to you if you lowered taxes. Don’t build a church at State House, use that money to take care of our young people," he added.

Kigame also talked about his vision of leadership, insisting that his approach to politics is disruptive and aimed at breaking the historical dominance of two communities in Kenya’s presidency.

"My presidency will be disruptive; I am a radical disruptor. We want to change the way politics and leadership in Kenya has been for a long time. We want to mainstream those who are from other communities. From when Kenya became a nation, the Presidency has oscillated between the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin; I want to disrupt that," he remarked.

This comes a month after Kigame confirmed that he is preparing to run for president in the upcoming 2027 General Election.

Speaking in an interview on Monday, July 28, Kigame revealed that he is putting structures in place and will officially launch his bid in the coming weeks.

"I'm planning [to run for president in 2027]. I'm just getting ready to launch officially in a couple of weeks, it's about two years to the next election, so two years is good enough to roll it out," he said.

Kigame, who was blocked from contesting for the seat in 2022, said he is positioning his campaign around values and character rather than politics.

"I started a journey that I did not complete and so I will be working very hard to complete it and complete it well. And the point is, a lot of people, would ask, so why another candidate? The thing is, what do I bring to the table that the others may or may not bring to the table? And that is my one strong mantra, that we need character-driven leadership.

"I don't just say ethical, because we've got to look at the character of the person we elect. And it's not just about the presidency, my insistence is we need to have character-driven MCAs, Woman Rep, MPs and Governors," he added.