Catholic Church starts drive to break Kenya’s graft chain

Catholic bishops during the national prayer day at Subukia Shrine in Nakuru County on October 5, 2019. They said the church seeks to break the corruption chain in the country through a campaign which will run for the next six months. PHOTO | JOHN NJOROGE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The church will also launch a renewal of baptismal vows for all its faithful in the country.
  • The faithful will be required to declare their intention to fight corruption at their places of work.
  • They said all gifts to the church leaders must be accompanied by a letter from the donor.

The Catholic Church has announced a nationwide anti-corruption campaign.

The new anti-graft push by the church was unveiled Saturday during a national prayer day at the Subukia Shrine in Nakuru County.

The drive, which seeks to break the corruption chain in the country, will run for the next six months.

Corruption desks will be opened in all Catholic churches in the country to keep a track of all cases reported by the public.

RENEW VOWS

The church will also launch a renewal of baptismal vows for all its faithful in the country.

The faithful will be required to declare their intention to fight corruption at their places of work.

Speaking in Subukia Saturday, Catholic bishops said that corruption has been infiltrating the church.

They alleged that some politicians are donating ill-gotten money to churches and institutions.

POLITICIANS

The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) said it will not allow the church to be used as a political platform.

“Politicians will not be allowed to address the congregation inside the church. The same will be restricted outside the church,” said KCCB chairman, Bishop Philip Anyolo.

Some of the Catholic faithful who flocked at Subukia National Shrine on October 5, 2019 during the national prayers day. PHOTO | FRANCIS MUREITHI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

They added, “Political statements will not be allowed during the liturgical celebrations. The church has stopped accepting direct donations from the politicians. Contributions to fundraise for Catholic Church projects will be done via mobile money transfer or by cheques,” said the bishops’ statement.

The bishops said this will stop the handling of large amounts of cash and give a clear trail of the donors.

CASHLESS DONATIONS

“We wish to move towards cashless donations and for the purpose of accountability, we shall declare in public the list and accounts of our projects and fundraising initiatives in our churches and institutions which will be open to public scrutiny,” said the bishops.

The bishops promised to keep a record of any gifts exceeding Sh50,000 to religious leaders in the church.

They said all gifts to the church leaders must be accompanied by a letter from the donor.

The bishops decried what they called “tremendous corruption that has imprisoned hearts, families and the entire society”.

They said it is time for the country to unite and uproot corruption.

REJECT GRAFT

“We are calling upon all Kenyans to change their weird ways and reject corruption,” said the statement.

“We have launched the campaign by removing our shoes in solidarity with those who have suffered and continue to suffer as a result of corruption,” said the bishops who called on Kenyans to be ready to pay the price of integrity.

“We make this commitment to lead the fight against corruption. We call upon every Catholic in this country to take this desired decision to fight corruption for the sake of our society,” their statement added.

They said like David in the Bible in his fight against the giant Goliath, they are ready to tackle graft.

“We may appear small, but we can slay this monster of corruption and save our country.”