Kenya’s Catholic Church has rejected a donation of around $40,000 (£32,000) from President William Ruto.
He offered the money for the construction of a priest’s house and as a gift to the choir during Sunday mass at the Soweto Catholic Church in the capital Nairobi.
The donation followed a recent statement by Catholic bishops, who had attacked the government for failing to keep their election promises.
Churches are under pressure this year from young anti-tax protesters who accuse them of being too close to politicians.
Following Ruto’s highly publicized donation on Sunday, many Kenyans urged the Catholic Church to reject the money.
The president had given about 2.6 million Kenyan shillings ($20,000, £16,000) in cash, pledging the rest of the money later and also promising to give the parish a bus.
The Catholic Archbishop of Nairobi, Philip Anyolo, said the money would be returned due to “ethical concerns and the need to protect the Church from being used for political purposes”.
He also rebuffed his other pledges, saying a donation of 200,000 Kenyan shillings made by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, who attended the same service, was also returned.
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“The Catholic Church strongly discourages the use of church events such as fundraising and rallies as a platform for political self-promotion,” Archbishop Anyolo said.
Such donations were against church guidelines and Kenyan law, he added.
The long ties between churches and political institutions – in a country where more than 80% of the population is Christian – seem to be fading.
Three years ago, established churches banned politicians from using the pulpit during services in exchange for donations.
But the relationship was still seen as close, with young protesters accusing the churches of siding with the government when it decided to introduce new taxes earlier this year.
Under the hashtag #OccupyChurch on social media, many targeted churches for failing to take their side during the deadly protests that erupted in response to planned tax hikes.
The uproar forced President Ruto’s government to withdraw the controversial finance bill in July.
Last week, the Kenyan Conference of Catholic Bishops – which represents all Catholic bishops in the country – accused the government of perpetuating a “culture of lies”.
In a scathing statement, it also raised issues of overburdening, corruption, human rights abuses, freedom of expression, unemployment and a “crumbling” education and healthcare system.
“Despite the calm we are experiencing, there is a lot of anxiety and most people are losing confidence in the government,” the report said.
In response, President Ruto appeared to hit back at the clerics, saying “we must be careful about giving factual information, otherwise we will become victims of the things we accuse others of”.
A government-affiliated senator, Aaron Cheruiyot, also accused the church of “misinformation,” adding that the “clerics should avoid being purveyors of propaganda, fake news and untruths.”
Many Kenyan Christians are Catholic; according to government statistics, this number is estimated at ten million, approximately 20% of the population.
Other Christians belong to a variety of evangelical churches and other denominations, including the Anglican Church of Kenya – which has defended the position of the Catholic Church.
Anglican Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit said the Catholic bishops had reflected the sentiments of many Kenyans.
“Bashing church leaders or dismissing bishops’ statements as ‘misleading, inaccurate and false’ is in itself unfair,” he said.
“The [Catholic] Bishops have spoken the minds of Kenyans and faithfully expressed the truth as matters stand on the ground.”
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