Should churches accept ‘dirty’ money from politicians?

Eight out of 10 politicians you talk to today either attended a church fundraiser yesterday or have attended one today — with more requests pending.

And some, like Deputy President William Ruto, are having to be in more than one such events in any given Saturday and Sunday.

They cannot afford to miss out, however much they are strained, since doing so would be tantamount to handing over to their opponents who would likely get more political mileage.

It is that season in every electoral cycle when churches and other institutions like schools cash in on politicians’ ambitions. They trade fundraisers with giving the aspirants a platform to talk to the masses or by endorsing them in some cases.

Take the Bitare Catholic Church in Bonchari constituency, Kisii County, for instance.

The walls are done, the roof is in place, but it still needs a floor. And windows will need to be fixed. Doors too. Some wall finishing and painting also.

That means another fundraiser is in the offing to ensure the church is finally completed after being under construction for more than six years — and being a subject of at least three fundraisers.

The last fundraiser was done late last year, and an official at the church told Lifestyle that although the worshippers have been contributing, they are planning to hold another harambee in the next few months.

That means the fundraiser will happen when politicians are in campaign mode.

And, as has happened before, various politicians — the incumbents and the aspirants — will be listed as guests in cards distributed to source for funds.

TAX CRASH PROGRAMME

And when the fundraising day finally arrives, it is only natural that each of the “guest” politicians will stand before the priest and believers to vouch for themselves and throw jabs at their opponents — well, unless Bishop Joseph Mairura, who is currently the head of Kisii Diocese, borrows a leaf from his counterpart in Embu Diocese, Paul Kariuki, and bans the listing of politicians as guests of honour.

In a terse message to the diocese on November 2, Bishop Kariuki ordered a change in the way churches engage politicians in fundraisers.

“I hereby decree that all those aspiring to vie for any civic post come 2017 should not be included in the list of the guests in our fundraising. They can make their contributions just like any other person but should not be guests of honour,” he wrote.

The bishop also declared churches, church compounds, church halls and any other church facilities out of bounds for political activities, saying they “should never be used for political gatherings or meetings”.

The Embu bishop’s exhortation, aimed at setting ground rules before the 2017 General Election, has sparked debate on where the boundary lies between politics and the church.

It has also drawn focus on church fundraisers. Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi feels that churches are on a crash programme to “tax” politicians before December 31 when electoral laws place a moratorium on those eyeing political seats against taking part in such events.

A spotcheck by Lifestyle revealed that aspirants for all seats have their diaries packed for the next four weeks. Church fundraisers are among the events.

In light of the fact that clerics do not question the source of the sums they receive from politicians, Kitutu Masaba MP Timothy Bosire accuses some of betraying Christianity.

Mr Bosire, the ODM treasurer, says most church leaders cannot fit in the shoes of the late Bishop Henry Okullu, Maurice Cardinal Otunga, Alexander Muge and Ndingi Mwana ’a Nzeki, who he says stood against the evils in the establishment, including corruption.

Kisumu Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o says that the church has lost its moral voice in its pursuit of material property.

“On this, they (churches) are morally wrong. Inviting aspirants to give money in the form of harambees is not very Christian because you are making people vulnerable. If you want people to contribute, appeal to them logically not by exploiting political competition,” says Prof Nyong’o.

As if the appetite for “dirty” money is not enough, reports abound of disputes that have emerged in churches after fundraisers.

Lifestyle has been told of cases in Nyamira, Nairobi and Kisumu counties where tenders for construction and the budgeting for monies raised have created wrangles in churches.

Disagreements between the church and the contractor are partly to blame for the slow construction pace of St Stephen’s Cathedral belonging to the Anglican Church of Kenya in Kisumu’s Milimani Estate.

Its construction started in 1985 as a brainchild of Bishop Okullu. To date, the 2,500-seater church is yet to be completed.

Some of the politicians who have attended fundraisers at the church over the years include former President Daniel Moi, Moses Budamba Mudavadi, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and his brother Ajuma Oginga Odinga, Cord leader Raila Odinga, Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma, Prof Nyong’o, former Kisumu Town MP Job Omino, among others.

SOWING DISCORD

Despite the numerous fundraisers, including at least eight high-profile ones, the building is roughly 60 per cent complete.

Reverend Joshua Owiti, a former dean of the Maseno South diocese, told reporters last year that a lawsuit by the contractor slowed down the progress. He also said that the project could not be completed in the 1980s due to strict rules for securing licences for harambees.

As the ambitious Kisumu Anglican Church building crawls to its completion, the recent communication by Bishop Kariuki of Embu has renewed the debate on whether political leaders should be unconditionally welcomed to contribute to church projects or if there is a need to regulate what they say and do while inside church.

On Friday, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops declared a ban on politicians addressing congregations in churches.

In a statement on the state of the nation released in Kakamega, they said politicians are free to worship and pray where they want but would not be allowed to use the opportunity to make campaign statements.

“Politicians should not be allowed to address the congregations in our houses of worship,” said Bishop Philip Anyolo of Homa Bay Diocese.

Lifestyle’s conversations with the clergy, politicians and scholars revealed that while some believe that politics is part of the society and cannot, therefore, be divorced from the church, there are those who want only religious agenda to be discussed in churches.

The head of the Anglican Church, Rev Jackson ole Sapit, supports the directive by the Embu bishop, saying he will be sending an end-year pastoral letter to all the dioceses to offer guidance on the matter.

“The church needs a lot of wisdom when dealing with the political class. They are members of the church, yes, but we need to know the extent we involve them in church matters especially in the electioneering period,” he says.

Rev Sapit said that as a precaution, he never invited them to church fundraisers when he was the Kericho bishop.

“We must ask ourselves about its ethical implications, whether it ends up compromising church leaders. The original intention was good but, in many cases, it has been abused. We don’t want to benefit from ill-gotten wealth,” he told Lifestyle.

Meanwhile, the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) plans to issue its stand on how churches should relate with politicians when its executive committee meets in December.

“That is one of the areas that we will discuss and advocate as necessary amongst religious church leaders,” says Canon Rosemary Mbogo, the NCCK chairperson.

In Kitale, Pastor John Wanjala of the Wings of Faith Ministries, said they barred politicians from using their pulpit because they “lacked spiritual mentorship”. 

“Most of the time, their speeches tend to pollute the sanctity of the church which is a holy place. We cannot allow them to use our altar to breed hatred,” says Pastor Wanjala.

Similar sentiments were echoed by Bishop Maurice Crowley, the head of the Kitale Catholic Diocese.

“We are limiting politicians from peddling their agenda in our churches. Those who must speak will be limited to merely greeting the congregation outside the church,” he says.

In West Pokot County, Pastor Tom Ngeywo of the Deliverance Church in Kapenguria was categorical that politicians will not be allowed to do politics in their church.

“We shall not allow them to campaign here because they can use the platform to divide the faithful on tribal and political lines,” says Pastor Ngeywo.

 Two clerics in Kisumu have already taken a stand on churches and fundraising.

Bishop Winnie Owiti of the Voice of Salvation and Healing International and Archbishop Julius Otieno of the Living Water Church say some churches have become “dens of corruption”.

“It is unfortunate that some politicians loot money and refer to themselves as rich. They then splash the cash during harambees to churches which do not bother to question their sources. This is a grave matter that need prayers,” Bishop Owiti told Lifestyle.

Archbishop Otieno advises churches to be mindful about politicians’ income sources.

“We have witnessed politicians donate between Sh2 million and Sh5 million in a single harambee. We are left wondering how much they earn in a month in terms of salaries and businesses to be able to make such a contribution.”

Deputy President William Ruto’s attendance and contributions for fundraisers have raised eyebrows recently. Churches have been among his favourite grounds for making donations during his visits to various parts of the country, raising questions on the source of his income.

Concerned that Kenyans had allowed the harambee idea to deviate from what it originally was, Senator Nyong’o proposed a Bill to regulate public fundraising. But it was last month shot down by the National Assembly.

“We live in a nation where some people are hypocritical. When harambee was started, I was young then. There were institutions called harambee schools which were meant to complement the few ones built by the colonial government.

BLESSED TO GIVE

“After independence, people realised the government by itself could not put up as many schools as people wanted. They pooled resources to do this. But it has since taken a different turn, becoming a show of the rich flaunting their wealth in rural areas, mesmerising the peasantry with so much money and reducing them to spectators,” Prof Nyong’o says.

A notable example of that phenomenon was displayed by Kiambu Governor William Kabogo at a fundraiser at the Githunguri Township Catholic Church last year, an event that was attended by his political rival, Ferdinand Waititu.

Mr Waititu, representing  Mr Ruto at the event, gave the Deputy President’s Sh500,000 contribution, then gave his personal contribution of Sh100,000. Mr Kabogo then “boosted” Mr Waititu’s contribution by Sh100,000, then gave his Sh300,000 contribution.

Among the proposals in Senator Nyong’o’s Bill was that a licence should be obtained before conducting a fundraiser — and that has been cited as a reason for its rejection.

The Bill had already been passed by the Senate but, after the lawmakers shoved it aside, it will now go before a mediation committee of the two Houses so the contentious issues can be ironed out.

Garissa Township MP and Majority Leader Aden Duale faults Prof Nyong’o’s Bill as an attempt to curtail alms-giving.

“Where I come from giving is a virtue. People contribute money to build mosques and schools. People contribute to send children to school and most of us are beneficiaries. There is no way we can stop this practice,” says Mr Duale.

But Prof Nyong’o, who is a pastor’s son, wants to put checks on the harambee spirit to guard against blatant displays of financial might.

“Like in my church at home, whenever we have thanksgiving, everybody comes and contributes what they have to the Lord and the church does not look down upon anybody.”

One major accusation against churches is that they thrive on creating competition among politicians eyeing various seats so that each can outdo the other in fundraisers.

Responding to that, Canon Mbogo of NCCK says all politicians in church should be treated as worshippers.

“They, too, should be true worshippers. And if they are true worshippers, then let them come and give like every other Christian is giving when it is time for giving,” she says.

Bishop Mark Kariuki, the head of the Evangelical Alliance and the Kenyan overseer of the Deliverance Church, says he cannot accept a politician’s contribution to the church when the General Election is nearing.

“If someone waits when an election is nearing then comes to tell me that they have 10 iron sheets for me, I won’t take them. That means he has come to bribe me with iron sheets or cement or money so that he gets votes,” he says.

Bishop Kariuki, one of the clerics who prayed for President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President Ruto at Nakuru’s Afraha Stadium in April after the two leaders were cleared by the International Criminal Court, says he cannot allow a politician to stand at the altar to address the congregation.

“That is a holy place and it is not for everyone. The person preaching there is the one who is allowed to be there,” he told Lifestyle.

Muslims are stricter in terms of what politicians can speak in mosques, according to Mr Adan Wachu, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem).

“In Islam, the pulpit is never used as a political springboard unless that speaker in the name of a politician has something special to Islam and Muslims and he needs to deliver. Other than that, we don’t allow a politician to deliver personal political rhetoric from the pulpit,” he says.

Mr Wachu said that any Muslim politician can only talk to worshippers “with the permission of the mosque committee if what you want to communicate is in the best interests of Islam and Muslims”.

Weighing in on the conversation about politicians and places of worship, Dr Boaz Onyancha, who is the chairman of Philosophy, History and Religious Studies Department at Egerton University, said that because politics is part of the society, no Kenyan should be barred from discussing it anywhere.

“The church is part of society and a very important institution of society. And politicians are also members of the church. How can you bar them from speaking? You are kind of curtailing their freedom of expression,” says Dr Onyancha, a religious studies lecturer.

“And one thing that is important to note is that politicians do not force their way into the churches. They are invited by interested members of the church,” he says.

Senator Murungi concurs: “We (politicians) do not accept the blame. We don’t invite ourselves to these harambees.”

He challenged the church to find alternative ways of raising money for its development needs if it, indeed, was serious about freeing itself from “political influence”.

“As they do this, they also need to be aware that politicians also form part of the flock, so where do they want to take us?” he asks.

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Additional reporting by Silas Apollo, Justus Ochieng, Philip Bwayo, Oscar Kakai and Gerald Bwisa