Law professor Makau Mutua has welcomed the decision by ACK to ban politicians from depositing huge sums of money in churches, adding that the move would have negative impact on Deputy President William Ruto and his 2022 campaigns.
Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit on Tuesday expressed his reservations on donations from politicians, arguing that they should consider making silent donations just like other ordinary members of the church.
“If you are to come to worship, come with your resources. And let us, as the church, also learn to mobilise resources for our development agenda and do it quietly, not with the hype that takes us off the pulpit. Let us not allow harambee money to become a subtle way of sanitising corrupt leaders," he noted.
And the US based don says the move would neutralise DP Ruto, who he accuses of donating huge sums of money to churches without disclosing the source of his wealth.
"Where will Hustler and his coterie DUMP their loot on Sundays now that @KenyaCatholics and @AnglicaninKenya — Kenya’s biggest churches — have rejected DIRTY sacks of money in the Lord’s House? Where will moneybags launder his ill-gotten mulla? " wondered Mutua.
ODM leader Raila Odinga has been in the frontline fighting huge donations to the church. On Saturday in Kisumu, he accused some churches of tolerating money laundering.
“Some church leaders are true to their calling, others are not. We need to ask the source of the millions of money being taken to churches,” said Raila.
“We need to ask, if someone’s salary is Sh1 million a month, where do they get Sh5 million each week or between Sh15 and Sh20 million a month to hold fundraisers in churches?”
But on Wednesday, DP Ruto criticised those opposing contributions to churches, adding that he's not ready to stop the culture. He said he's not ashamed of giving back to the church.
"I know there are charges against me for helping Christians in churches. I plead guilty, I am not ashamed of my faith..." DP @WilliamsRuto," he said.