An Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) bishop has criticized leaders behind recent attacks on the clergy over church donations.
Speaking in Murang’a on Sunday, Bishop Timothy Gichere of the ACK Mt Kenya Central diocese said the church will continue receiving the funds labeled proceeds of corruption until the courts declare such leaders corrupt.
He argued that there is no clear mechanism to distinguish “clean” money and money gotten from corruption scandals.
The bishop said no one should label or condemn others as corrupt as one is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“When leaders come to church and contribute money with clean hearts, we can’t decline because we are not in a position to know if the money is gotten from corruption and we are not there to rebuke and label people as corrupt because that is the obligation of the courts, ” Githere said.
He urged the leaders to give mandated bodies ample time to carry out investigations.
“Let the judicial process go on without politicising the war on graft so that the culprits can be arrested and charged,” he said.
At the same time, the bishop urged leaders not to use the pulpit to spread propaganda and hatred.
“It is unfair for politicians to be using the church as a campaign platform and to spread hate,” he said.
Read:Catholic Church Resolves To Block Politicians From Pulpit
The comments come a day after opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed the funds donated by a section of leaders to churches across the country were proceeds of corruption.
He accused some religious leaders of allowing their churches to be used for money laundering.
“Some church leaders are true to their calling, others are not. We need to ask the source of the millions of money being taken to churches,” said Raila.
“We need to ask, if someone’s salary is Sh1 million a month, where do they get Sh5 million each week or between Sh15 and Sh20 million a month to hold fundraisers in churches?”
Email your news TIPS to Editor@kahawatungu.com or WhatsApp +254707482874. You can also find us on Telegram through www.t.me/kahawatungu
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
