KENYA: Don’t Bring Politics to Church, Catholic Bishops Tell Politicians

NAIROBI, MAY 10 2019 (CISA) – “The Church is a safe place for all kinds of people. It is a place of worship, of repentance and encouraging one another on issues affecting us. It is not a place to advance political agenda. In Church you find people from different ethnicities, political affiliations and with different needs. We strongly condemn politicking in Church, because it brings divisions among Christians,” Archbishop Martin Kivuva, has said, warning politicians against taking advantage of Church gatherings to advance divisive political agenda.

The Archbishop was speaking May 10 on behalf of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) at a press conference held in Nairobi.

“We thank politicians who adhere to these rules, they are there. They worship with other Christians and go talk about politics elsewhere. This helps us not to mix politics with what brings us to Church,” he noted.

The bishops also added that Members of Parliament should halt their recent bid to increase their allowances, saying the country is facing tough economic times.

“They need to wait. This is because our country already bears a heavy burden of debts. Second, the tax payers are the ones to bear this burden. We recommend that the increase waits until the country solves its economic crisis,” said Archbishop Kivuva.

The Press Conference held at the end of a May 6 – 10 KCCB plenary meeting, also addressed issues affecting the country, including the growing wage bill, erosion of values, and corruption.