The National Council of Churches Kenya (NCCK) has condemned President William Ruto’s assertion that foreign powers were orchestrating the current wave of protests in the country.
Canon Chris Kinyanjui, the council’s General Secretary, clarified in a media interview that no foreign entities were funding the protests, attributing the unrest to an incompetent government.
“From my own assessment and looking at the people I do not think there are foreign forces funding the protests,” remarked Chris Kinyanjui.
He emphasized, “How did we come here, we reached here because we have a govt that does not listen to his people or to those that can advise it in the right direction.”
In addition to criticizing the government’s handling of protests, Kinyanjui accused the Ruto-led administration of neglecting to hold accountable those implicated in corruption scandals across various ministries.
“The grievances, lamentations Kenyans are talking about are still in our faces, we have scandals on edible oils, where billions were put out from the taxpayer’s money and the fake fertilizer scandal, what the government has not communicated is how it will deal with corruption,” Kinyanjui highlighted.
The clergyman also criticized the government’s lack of communication on how it plans to tackle these issues.
Furthermore, Kinyanjui pointed out the government’s failure to address public concerns coherently and accused it of contradicting itself in its communications. He also reproached President Ruto for reneging on his promise not to involve politicians in church affairs and for making substantial donations at fundraisers.
“We witnessed the president in church on Sunday making political remarks and also gave out a large donation,” Kinyanjui observed.
On July 15th, President William Ruto accused the American NGO Ford Foundation of financing the ongoing anti-government protests, alleging that the Foundation deployed thugs to incite chaos and cause property damage during demonstrations.
In response, the foundation refuted Ruto’s claims, asserting its commitment to a non-partisan approach in all grant-making activities and affirming respect for Kenyans’ right to peacefully advocate for a fair and just Kenya.
“We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the finance bill and have a strictly non-partisan policy for all of our grant-making,” the Foundation stated.
