Clerics to Ruto: Listen to protesters
After the 2024 Finance Bill that sparked national protests by young people was rejected, religious leaders have called on President William Ruto to pay keen interest to the demands of Kenyans and shun advice from the international community and his key allies.
Warning that none of them have the interests of the nation at heart, the Church said that Generation Z have reminded leaders of the need to listen to public views on matters of great interest to them.
The Catholic Church said it should not be business as usual in the political arena after last week’s protests that were widely viewed as a public revolt against the government.
The Pope’s representative to Kenya, Archbishop Hubert Maria Van Megan, who spoke during an ordination ceremony on Saturday in Lavington, Nairobi, said last week’s protests demonstrated the need for a change in politics.
“If the government wants to allay the fear and the anger not only of the youth but of all the mwananchi, of all the hustlers of this great country, they cannot continue and do business as usual. Business has to change because our youth means business,” Megan said.
He condemned the use of excessive force by the police on unarmed protesters exercising their constitutionally protected right, saying it was a form of oppression against protests
“As with all revolutions, and also this one, unfortunately but nearly inevitably, were accompanied by violence, oppressors against the oppressed, heavily armed security forces against poorly protected protesters. Water cannons, teargas and life bullets against sticks and stones. Sirens and explosions against the shouting and pleading of protesters,” Megan noted.
Githurai violence
Megan cited the violence in Githurai, where the police are said to have shot dead several protesters and left many others injured.
“The state machinery was shooting at free will, leaving behind dead bodies while the wounded ran into the square of Holy Family Basilica. There was blood on the streets. Youth killed in Githurai, internet influencers and student leaders abducted, tortured and humiliated, dumped in the dark and filthy ditches of Nairobi,” the Catholic cleric added.
Megan said the church should provide the necessary support to those pushing for reforms in government.
“The Church should not be disconnected from the events of these days. After an initial hesitation at Holy Family Basilica, when it had closed its gates, the protesters could not enter,” he said.
“On Tuesday, however, it opened its gates so that people could receive water, wash their faces, drink a bit so that the wounded could be treated at a field hospital that had been set up within the compound.”
For its part, the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) said it opposes overtaxation, adding that revenues from the taxes Kenyans pay were being used to finance the extravagant lifestyles of government officers, many of whom publicly displayed their opulence.
The ACK urged President William Ruto to help restore the confidence of Kenyans in his leadership after the deadly protests of last week.
“The President must outline practical austerity measures to reduce over-expenditure in government and let Kenyans see things changing from the use of lavish cars, overrepresentation in foreign trips, unnecessary and obnoxious per diems for civil servants and bloated staff in public service,” All Saints Cathedral Provost Evans Omollo said.
“He should scrap the illegal and unnecessary offices such as the Chief Administrative Secretaries and personal advisers which keep gobbling millions of shillings from public coffers.”
