Kenya: President's church donation sparks clashes

By Chinasaokwu Helen Okoro

Police in Kenya have fired tear gas to disperse protesters who tried to occupy a church that was recently given a substantial donation by President William Ruto.

The gift to the Jesus Winner Ministry in the Roysambu suburb of Nairobi of 20m shillings ($155,000; £120,000) drew criticism from some young Kenyans struggling with the high cost of living.

Ruto has defended his donation and has offered a similar gift to another church in Eldoret.

Last year, both Kenya’s Catholic and Anglican leaders rejected donations, arguing that there was a need to protect the church from being used for political purposes.

Several people have been arrested during the clashes, which saw protesters try to get into the church and light fires and use rocks to block nearby roads.

But the church service went ahead with tight security for worshippers, local media report.

Bishop Edward Mwai said that unnamed people had mobilised “thugs” to disrupt the church service, reports the Star website.

Ruto, an evangelical Christian, defended the donation, saying it was an attempt to address the country’s moral decay.

“Kenya must know God so that we shame the people who are telling us that we cannot associate with the church,” the Nation site quoted him as saying at another church, in Eldoret.

Kenyans have been angered by a series of tax rises introduced since Ruto was elected in 2022.

He says they were needed to pay off the huge debts he inherited from the previous government but many Kenyans argue that he should first tackle public waste and corruption.

Last year, a wave of nationwide protests forced Ruto to withdraw his Finance Bill, which contained a series of tax rises.