The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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By: BBC
William Ruto’s Christian faith has been the foundation of his personal life and his political journey.
William Ruto, who became the president of Kenya two years ago by getting the majority of Christian votes, has been shocked to discover that in the last few months the leaders of churches of all faiths are losing faith in him – likening him to the corrupt tax collector written in the Bible.
In the lead up to his victory, some of his loyal evangelical followers called him “David”, the name of the shepherd boy in the Bible who rose to become king.
The opposition had dubbed him “vicar Jesus”, accusing him of using Christianity to gain political capital as he attended church services ranging from Catholic crowds to gatherings of unknown sects.
He wore clothes that corresponded to the religion in question, sometimes kneeling in prayer and occasionally burst into tears during worship.
Later, he glorified God for his election success, and continued this practice of going around the country to attend different churches every Sunday.
But following a major backlash following a tax hike imposed by his government, the 57-year-old president was given a new nickname: “Zacayo” – which is Swahili for Zacchaeus, the wealthy and unpopular tax collector of Jericho mentioned in the Bible.
The president has been insisting that if people want better public services and a reduction in the country’s debt burden, they must pay.
Over the past two years, payroll taxes have gone up, fuel sales tax has doubled and people are also paying new housing taxes and health insurance taxes that have yet to benefit most Kenyans.
When massive anti-tax protests broke out in June, led by popular youth like Gen Zs, they also drew attention to churches for being too close to politicians and allowing them to preach from their pulpits.
Their anger forced the government to scrap a controversial finance bill that had included more tax increases – and it roused the churches, whose clergy began openly criticizing Ruto and his policies.
This was also a major development as the faith-based economy is big business in a country where more than 80% of the population is Christian – and a religion that will be able to do fundraising with the right politician can be lucky.
Last month, Teresia Wairimu, the founder of the Faith Evangelistic Ministries (Fem) church in the capital, Nairobi, where Ruto and his family have been worshiping regularly, suggested that their King David was returning to the farm where the sheep breeding took place.
“As a voter, I am ashamed,” he said in his sermon.
Another sermon by Reverend Tony Kiama of the River of God Church recently went viral after he called the Ruto government “not serving the purpose of God but evil”, mentioning the killings during the recent protests, the rise in the cost of living and corruption.
The harshest criticism was last week’s statement from the Catholic bishops, who carry more weight because of their prestige and influence in Kenya.
They accused the Ruto government of perpetuating a “culture of lies”, citing unfulfilled campaign promises.
“Basically, it seems that the truth is not there, and if it is, it is only what the government says,” the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Kenya said, also denouncing corruption, extortion and excessive taxation as stifling the economy.
One bishop described Kenya as an “Orwellian dystopian authoritarian” country, where opposition was met with “threats, kidnapping or even murder”.
This was a reference to the 60 people who died and another 1,300 arrested during the anti-tax protests.
Another 74 people have been kidnapped and 26 have been reported missing in the past five months, according to the Kenya National Human Rights Commission.
The strong statement by the bishops was followed by the church’s rejection of a $40,000 (£32,000) donation made by Ruto when he attended the Soweto Catholic Church in Nairobi last Sunday – with the Archbishop of Nairobi citing “ethical issues and the need to protect the Church from being used for the purposes of politically.”
The majority of Kenyan Christians are Catholics – about 10 million people, or 20% of the population, according to government statistics.
Other Christians belong to various evangelical churches and other denominations, including the Anglican Church of Kenya and the Presbyterian Church.
And the influence of the Catholic Church in Kenya exceeds its believers due to its large investment in education, health services and other social programs.
It has also been angered by the controversial changes to the new social health insurance scheme, with the government owed millions of dollars by religious hospitals.
The bishops’ candid assessment of the state of the nation has reminded Kenyans of the role of church leaders when they pushed for a return to multi-party democracy in the 1990s.
Strong priests such as Ndingi Mwana a’Nzeki of the Catholic Church, Alexander Muge, Henry Okullu and David Gitari of the Anglican Church and Timothy Njoya of the Presbyterian Church fearlessly opposed the oppressive and one-party rule of the then President Daniel arap Moi .
But analysts say under Moi’s successors – Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta, both Catholics – the clergy lost their voice.
“Under President William Ruto, things got worse because important members of the church seemed to be ushered into the dining room,” veteran journalist Macharia Gaitho wrote in Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper this week, implying that “churches were bribed into silence “.
The Catholic bishops’ position has gained support from other denominations, including Islamic preachers – despite the widespread religious support that Ruto previously enjoyed for his strong stance on gay rights and his conservative views on abortion.
A joint statement by some Pentecostal leaders and churches commended the bishops for their bravery and also for “doing something that was not expected” especially by rejecting Ruto’s money.
The head of the Anglican Church in Kenya, Bishop Jackson Ole Sapit, who led the national prayer on the day Ruto was declared the winner of the presidential race, joined the Catholic bishops in condemning what he described as “excessive bad governance, indifference and gross violation of rights “.
“In that situation, we should not just fold our hands and pray for miracles,” Ole Sapit said, adding that the Catholic bishops expressed the sentiments of many Kenyans.
Baptist priest Daniel Wambua added that religious leaders are now determined to end “the relationship of financial transactions with the government.
But analysts say Ruto, who frequently uses scriptures to respond to critics, should be careful with direct confrontations as even small churches can have thousands of followers who could adversely affect his re-election bid.
The President is already facing rebellion in parts of his 2022 political strongholds after the removal of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua last month.
They differed on how the anti-tax protests, which have shaken Ruto’s administration, were handled.
A close ally of the president, MP Oscar Sudi, has written on the X website admitting that they were wrong and asking for forgiveness from the Catholic bishops on behalf of the government.
Ruto himself has since appeared to soften his response to the growing criticism, saying he has heard the religious leaders and is ready to cooperate with them.
“We have made undeniable progress in our country. However, there is still much to be done. We must continue to work together to accelerate the implementation of our promises and transform Kenya,” he posted on the X website on Thursday.
What Kenya’s first evangelical president has to accept is that the churches he successfully used to gain government power may help unseat him in the next election.
“He knows he cannot fight the church,” said Mr Gaitho.
