The Anglican Church of Kenya has beefed up support for the Catholic Bishops on state of governance in the country.
In a statement on Monday,18 November 2024,The archbishop of the ACK-Kenya Jackson Ole Sapit lashed earlier reports that indicated that he was siding with the government giving the course a wide berth.
“The Anglican Church of Kenya takes great exception to reports in some section of the media, which seems to indicate that ACK do not agree with the Catholic Bishops for calling out the government on a number of issues facing the country. We the ACK, fully support the catholic bishops’ statement to the nation,” Sapit stated.
Sapit says the ACK church believes that the broad-based government is yet to steer up the country in right direction despite the youthful GenZ giving President Ruto a golden opportunity to reinvigorate his manifesto and effect on delivering the campaign promises.
According to Sapit, disparaging or scoffing-off at the church leaders invalidating their statement as “misleading, erroneous and false,” is a dishonest move by Kenya Kwanza-allied politicians.
“The bishops have spoken the minds of Kenyans and faithfully expressed the truth as things are on the ground. No amount of attacks or intimidation will deter the church from calling out evil and speaking the truth to power,” he added.
“Let the political class and those in government come down from their high horses, listen for once, rather than seemingly perpetuate the commonplace culture of impunity. The governed do not need lectures but services and honest engagement. Please concentrate on providing leadership in a meaningful way and first tackle the myriad of problems that is bedeviling the country.”
The ACK church boss has blamed the government for steering the country to the wrong direction, taking issues with the new university funding model, the Social Health Insurance Fund unexplained abductions, forced disappearances and unresolved murders.
“It cannot be gainsaid that the new university funding model has not worked. Public universities are barely functioning. Perpetual delays in releasing capitation has continued to undermine efficient running of public schools. It cannot be gainsaid that the transition from National Health Insurance Fund to Social Health Insurance Fund has been anything but smooth, causing Kenyans untold suffering. It cannot be gainsaid that Kenyans have suffered unexplained abductions, forced disappearances and unresolved murders,” Sapit lamented.
“Who should be held responsible if not the government? It cannot be gainsaid that Kenyans are struggling with punitive taxes, unemployment crises, and less than ideal business environment. It cannot be gainsaid that the most vulnerable Kenyans have experienced inhuman evictions with no viable alternative to their already precarious living arrangements.”
Sapit has demanded transparency from the government, greater accountability, time-bound plans, and urgent interventions in such services as especially medical care.
“In the circumstances, we should not simply fold our hands and pray for miracles. We do not also condemn the government or even criticize for the sake of it. It is time the government realized that too much talk and open-ended promises will not do,” he noted.
