Embu Catholic Bishop Paul Kariuki — who banned politicians from church harambees in 2016 — has been sharply criticised on social media for making a U-turn and praising Deputy William Ruto's generosity.
The Deputy President was at St Peter and Paul's Cathedral in Karuina on Sunday where he donated Sh3 million.
On Sunday the bishop compared Ruto to a productive honeybee, which flies far distances to seek raw materials to make honey. He praised his development tours around the country.
He compared Ruto's rivals to houseflies that hover around filth.
The bishop publicly supported the Tangatanga grouping that supports Ruto, terming the rival Kieleweke team "a confused lot" that will perform below expectations in the 2022 General Election.
Efforts to reach the bishop for comment were unsuccessful as he was not picking calls nor responding to text messages.
In 2016, Bishop Kariuki banned politicians from church harambees, saying it amounted to dividing Christians.
Kariuki had issued letters to all the priests in the diocese, warning of disciplinary action against anyone who disobeyed the ban.
The cleric had at the time argued that allowing politicians to participate in church harambees was a form of bribing voters who would feel indebted to the politicians for helping them build a church or raise funds for church activities.
He said politicans could donate like any other person, not like a celebrity in church
He had asked voters to shun politicians using money to influence them, saying they should present their manifestos and ideas to them, not money.
The bishop had told priests who publicly supported various candidates to step down from the priesthood and become politicians. Kariuki had said that politicians should stick to political rallies, not churches.
However, on Sunday he changed his tune and residents are wondering what made him make an about-face.
"These kinds of utterances are totally confusing to the masses," Thirwam Githirwa wrote on social media.
Peterson Mwiti said, "These are materialistic pastors. They are encouraging divisions in the country, instead of uniting the people. His sentiments were not good as a man of God."
A number of residents said the bishop should not have taken political sides.
Kamiru Muthoni said the church has turned into a political playing field and the priest seems to be the defender.
Resident Gedion Karanja said the bishop might have been very excited when he saw the leaders in the church and had to find a way of massaging their egos.
(Edited by V.Graham)
