Catholic Church starts six-month anti-corruption campaign
By Seth Onyango, October 5, 2019
The Catholic Church this Saturday launches an aggressive campaign against corruption to bolster the government’s efforts to stem the vice.
Dubbed “Breaking the Chains of Corruption”, the six months’ faith-based initiative will commence in Nakuru, with the caravan expected to traverse every county.
Under the auspices of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, the campaign aims at sensitising the public about corruption.
Nyeri Archbishop Anthony Muheria said graft was getting entrenched in the society but he exuded confidence that the prayer rallies will help create a new conscience against the vice among Kenyans.
“We know this is a social evil that is breeding desperation, crime, unhealthy leadership and false sense of self-worth for those deeply involved in this corrupt practice and even building cultural division in Kenya and beyond,” he said.
He warned that Kenya risked sinking deeper into moral and economic crisis if nothing is done to weed out run-away corruption.
Muheria said the initiative will be the church’s contribution to the fight against corruption and will, among other things, press for swift action in handling of graft cases.
He urged Kenyans to shun the vice.
“If we follow the divine way, our hands would tremble before stretching them to receive bribe money, which is blood money. We must all do a lot of soul-searching and keep ourselves closer to God,” said the archbishop.
He said the Catholic Church abhors corruption and fully supports efforts to root out the vice in Kenya.
“We are saying that all those involved must be apprehended and brought before court for the law to take its course,” he said.
His comments come at a time the country’s leadership is split on the campaign against corruption.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has declared that all corrupt individuals in government must be hunted down and brought to book.
But some political leaders have termed the initiative as being politically motivated and meant to influence the 2022 election.