National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah unleashed a sharp rebuke against Kenya’s clergy on Saturday, accusing them of abandoning their spiritual duties to dabble in politics.
Speaking at the funeral of the late Baringo Senator William Cheptumo alongside President William Ruto, the Kikuyu MP didn’t mince words, spotlighting what he sees as a hypocritical shift in the church’s focus—particularly over the transition from the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Ichung’wah, a staunch Ruto ally, pointedly questioned why church leaders stayed silent during the NHIF’s troubled years, when funds were allegedly siphoned off, yet now raise their voices against the SHA, a flagship project of the Ruto administration.
“When money was being stolen from NHIF, we never heard them protesting about our rights or about that debt,” he charged.
“It’s only now, when the new Social Health Authority has inherited that debt, that we’re starting to hear these noises.”
The lawmaker’s comments come amid simmering tensions between the state and religious leaders, reignited by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) last November.
The bishops had accused Ruto’s government of peddling a “culture of lies” and failing to deliver on campaign promises, a critique that stung the administration into a defensive flurry.
Ruto himself responded then, urging the clergy to stick to facts in public debates, warning against the risk of mirroring the very flaws they decry.
At the Baringo funeral, Ichung’wah doubled down, framing the clergy’s recent outspokenness as an overstep.
“We’ve seen recently that there are those who’ve shelved the work of providing spiritual nourishment and begun infiltrating politics,” he said, before offering a plea laced with sarcasm: “I pray that those in church return to doing the Lord’s work and leave the rest to us.”
The SHA, meant to replace the scandal-plagued NHIF and deliver universal healthcare—a cornerstone of Ruto’s legacy—has faced its share of hiccups since its rollout in October 2024.
Critics, including the KCCB, have slammed the government for unpaid debts to faith-based hospitals and a rocky transition that’s left patients in limbo.
Ichung’wah’s salvo suggests a deeper frustration: that the church is picking fights now, after staying mum when the NHIF was bleeding public funds dry.
This isn’t the first time the Ruto camp has clashed with the clergy. The KCCB’s November broadside sparked a war of words, with government figures—Ichung’wah among them—accusing bishops of partisan agendas.
The MP’s latest remarks at Cheptumo’s sendoff escalate that rift, painting the church as opportunistic rather than principled.
President Ruto, who also spoke at the funeral, took a broader tack, urging leaders to prioritize Kenya’s destiny over petty divides—a subtle nod, perhaps, to the church-state spat.
