Church leaders threaten to storm Parliament over Mbadi’s harambee Bill
A planned motion by National Assembly Minority Leader John Mbadi seeking to cap harambee donations continues to elicit criticism with the latest opposition coming from the church.
A section of church leaders from Nairobi, under the name Second Generation Bishops, have come out to condemn the Bill threatening to storm the National Assembly if it is not withdrawn.
On Sunday, deputy president William Ruto also criticized the Bill saying that “you cannot compete with God” with a section of MPs also vowing to ensure that the Bill fails if it comes to the floor of the House.
The group, led by Kitengela Gospel Church Bishop Johan Kariuki termed the motion an affront to the church saying that it is wrong to limit the amount an individual is supposed to give out during harambees.
FIGHT THE CHURCH
“This is an outright fight against the church and schools because these are the institutions that mostly organize for harambees. We will storm parliament if the Bill is not withdrawn to show how serious we are,” said Bishop Kariuki on Monday during a press conference in Nairobi.
The ODM chairman has written to National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and proposed amendments to the Public Officer Ethics Act that will cap harambee contributions to Sh100,000.
The Public Officer Ethics (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks to compel any public officer who donates more than Sh100,000 in a harambee to declare the source of the cash to the EACC within 14 days of doing so.
He explained that it is through the donations that most churches and schools have been able to carry out development projects.
“They do this to build classes, buses, prize giving and so on. So who will be inviting to help us if they are now want to limit the amount of the donations?” he posed.
POLITICS IN CHURCH
The bishop called on other clergymen opposed to political donations to return all the contributions they have ever received from politicians to show they are genuine in their opposition.
He, however, warned politicians against engaging in politics while at the pulpit saying that those who defy the order to be ejected from the church.
“We are tired of politics in the church and we are calling for an immediate stop to it as was seen over the weekend when Kiambu Woman Rep was stopped from doing so,” he said.
Mr Kariuki also called for a stop to early campaigns currently playing out in the country and instead the focus should be turned to addressing of pertinent issues like unemployment.
“They should stop political rhetoric and help President Uhuru Kenyatta achieve Big Four Agenda,” he said.