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Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya Jackson Ole Sapit has weighed in on the ongoing discussion over plans to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Speaking during the thanksgiving and retirement service of Bishop Joel Waweru at St Stephen’s Cathedral Jogoo Road, Nairobi on Sunday, September 29, 2024, Ole Sapit read malice in the push for impeachment.

The ACK Archibishop wondered whether the impeachment motion had been brought up to distract Kenyans from the proposed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) takeover deal by Adani Group or other deals still under the table.

In his summon, Sapit asked the leaders to embrace dialogue to iron out their differences.

Bishop Ole Sapit made it clear that Kenyans are fed up with political animosity and rhetoric and only need service delivery.

“The country is very noisy and today it is characterised by a lot of noise. We want to ask the political class to please give Kenyans a break. After we voted, we expected them to work for Kenyans for five years without noise,” Ole Sapit stated.

“But Kenya has never known how to conclude an election. We elect leaders tomorrow they begin a campaign for the next five years without considering that Kenyans need a break for them to work. Please work for us.”

“We don’t know whether the current noises in the political front are genuine when we hear of impeachments of governors or deputy presidents or if they are noises to cover up other things like Adani or things that are hidden on the tables… Our prayer is that Kenyans need a break.”

“So we are asking the leaders where you met to walk together, go back to that space and meet again and walk together,” he advised the political class.

What Kenyans want

Instead of politicking, Bishop Ole Sapit implored the Kenya Kwanza administration to involve the public in making their decisions. He argued that the 2010 Constitution empowered Kenyans through public participation which the current administration has bypassed on numerous occasions.

“Kenyans are basically asking, when you are dealing with public resources don’t put them under the table, bring them to the service and the constitution gave Kenyans an opportunity for public participation. Let us engage the public clearly and in an open manner so that nothing is done under the table so that we don’t see things that will come to haunt and hurt us,” Ole Sapit insisted.

“The noises by young people recently were asking basic questions, who is going to manage our resources? Where is our future or are we handing it over to foreigners?” he posed.

NHIF to SHA

At the same time, Bishop Ole Sapit questioned the speed at which the Ministry of Education was implementing the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority (SHA).

The Bishop raised concerns indicating that churches are owed a lot of money by NHIF and are not sure how they will be paid during the transition.

Sapit implored the Kenya Kwanza administration to slow down the transition process and involve all stakeholders to avoid facing hurdles in the implementation phase.

“We are now moving from NHIF to SHA. The church has mission hospitals where NHIF owe them a lot of money in terms of claims. If we move it in a rash will those debts be remembered by the new administration? We call for more time, we have time to make them better,” he maintained.