Catholic bishops set 4 ‘tough’ rules to stop ‘dirty’ money from landing in Church

The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has introduced a raft of stringent measures to stop ill-acquired money from ending up in the Church.

Speaking at the Catholic National Shrine in Subukia, Nakuru County on Saturday, October 5, KCCB, through their chairperson, Archbishop Phillip Anyolo, said contributions to the Church by leaders, politicians and well-wishers will only be made electronically through banks and mobile money transfer technology. Cash donations won’t be accepted, they said.

This, the bishops say, will help keep records of how and where the Church got its monies from.

Anyolo said the bishops have also resolved that it will be mandatory for leaders in all Catholic branches in Kenya to keep record of all the people who donated monies to the respective churches. All the ongoing and pending Church projects must also be documented, said Anyolo.

The Church said any well-wisher who wants to gift a Catholic minister a present whose value is more than Ksh50, 000, should write a letter to the Church’s top leadership revealing why he or she wants to give out such an expensive gift and how the donor got the money.

The bishops also announced the banning of all politically-motivated speeches and activities on the church’s pulpit.

The 2019 national shrine was attended by more than 20 bishops drawn from different dioceses in Kenya, and thousands of faithful who subscribe to the Catholic belief.

Bishops present at the event included Mombasa Archbishop Martin Kivuva, Nakuru Diocese Bishop Maurice Muhatia, his Nyeri counterpart Anthony Muheria, among others.

The move by the Catholic bishops come on the back of a heated debate whether there is a need to introduce rules to regulate the amount of money donated to churches.

In mid-2019, the National Assembly Minority Leader, John Mbadi, wrote to the National Assembly Speaker, Justin Muturi, proposing amendments to the Public Officer Ethics Act to introduce a clause that caps harambee contributions to Ksh100, 000.

Mbadi’s move was opposed by a section of Jubilee Party leaders affiliated to Deputy President William Ruto.

The pro-Ruto outfit said the Suba South legislator was targeting the DP with that suggestion.

Ruto has, in the recent and far past, donated millions of shillings to churches across Kenya, with questions arising on the source of his donations.

In response, the DP said, on several platforms, that he is a “blessed and strategic businessman able to raise the monies he is falsely accused of acquiring illegally”.

Ruto is on record vowing to continue making donations to groups and churches.