The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) Chairman Reverend Elias Otieno Agola has clarified that the religious body has not endorsed any political candidate, movement, or any political coalition in the country.

Speaking on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, Agola admitted that there, however, remains concern over the restoration of the sanctity of the sanctuary as Kenya heads into a non-political space in the run-up to the general elections in 2027.

The chair further noted that individual pronouncements by the clerical body should not be misconstrued as the association’s stance.

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Not endorsed

“As NCCK and our churches, we are not in support of any politicians or any alliance. We have not endorsed any candidate, and neither are we against anybody. We do not support any candidate. We can have an individual person saying what he wants, but it is not the voice of the NCCK,” he stated.

The chair has, however, stressed that the body will continue to advocate for good governance and speak on relevant issues of governance, justifying the organisation’s proposals and contributions to specific bills in the Kenyan Parliament for that aim.

“We want to ensure we continue to talk about issues relevant to us,” he stated. We have been involved with specific legislation. We know what it can bring to the table, and we say good governance is also synonymous with our name,” he stated.

Maintaining voice

Additionally, Agola says that taking a stance against certain government policies by the churches must not be viewed as an affront against politicians or their faction. He stressed that the association has maintained its stance to speak truth to power and say things as they are.

Misuse of church platform

The chair clarified the church’s stance on what constitutes the misuse of the religious pulpit by politicians, a concern emanating from the increased fraternisation between the clergy and politicians.

“Its true we have churches that have allowed politicians to misuse the church platform to do politics. The wrong thing is when people come and want to use the platform to perpetuate their own agenda and politics. It is why we restrain politicians from using the church platform to play dirty politics. Not all churches have done that, so we cannot lump all churches in one heap,” he stated.

The cleric’s body parted by challenging Kenyans to equally take an active role in their political responsibility in advocating good governance.

“We call upon Kenyans to register as voters. We have a system in place if you want to effect change in the country. It is through voting and not going to the streets. We encourage all to take up their voting credentials in that regard,” he added.