President William Ruto has dismissed reports claiming that the church under construction at State House will cost Ksh1.2 billion, calling the figure baseless and misleading.
Speaking during the 35th Anniversary Thanksgiving of the ACK Diocese of Embu at Kigari Teachers Training College, Ruto questioned the credibility of the report published by a local daily.
“The Bishop has shown me the building we are constructing, it has eleven floors. It has been estimated that it will cost Ksh350 million. Let me ask, if the church is big enough for three hundred people, can it cost a billion shillings?” Ruto posed.
He urged Kenyans to stop spreading misinformation and warned against turning public discourse into attacks on the church.
“Please stop the gossip, propaganda and hatred. Why do you hate the church of God? I don’t know where these people got the billions.”
Ruto explained that the church being built at State House is meant to serve the nearly 300 staff families who live and work within the compound.
He clarified that he did not initiate the church’s construction but simply found it already in place. His contribution, he said, was upgrading the structure from a temporary iron sheet shelter to a permanent stone building.
“The church we are building is big enough for those children and the three hundred families, we have a Sunday school there and I didn’t start the church, I found it there,” Ruto said.
“What I have done is to say that instead of the church there being made of iron sheets, let’s build a stone one.”
He accused critics of using false information to undermine the government.
“They are plotting a lot against us, and mocking us. I beg you to respect the word of God. Those in State House are Kenyans like the others and Christians,” he said.
Ruto added that it would be hypocritical for him to travel the country supporting church construction while neglecting the one at his own residence.
