Baringo County Woman Representative Florence Jematiah at a past event/Handout
In her initial post through her X account on Tuesday, Jematiah had called on the church to "respect the authority in power" and "stop demeaning the Government".
"The church should respect the authority in power. Stop demeaning the Government and unnecessarily inciting other denominations. Churches to do their work of Hope and Faith to the believers," she tweeted.
This was however met with a wave of criticism from Kenyans who felt the remarks undermined the church's independent role in society.
Jematiah’s initial tweet calling on the church to respect government authority sparked reactions online, with some Kenyans expressing frustration over perceived interference from politicians in church matters.
“Can you also advise your fellow politicians that the church is a house of worship and they must never seek to speak to the congregation who leave their homes to go and pray not to listen to politicians? You people should organise your own political platforms outside the church,” a user named Samora M replied to Jematiah's tweet.
In response to the backlash on Wednesday, Jematiah retracted her earlier statement, offering an apology to Kenyans who had voiced their concerns online.
“Hello Kenyans, I have gone through all the comments on my previous post about Churches. I hereby withdraw my statement and apologise. I had to agree with you all that churches should be left to do their work and can include oversight because believers are citizens," Jematiah tweeted.
This comes days after the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi openly rejected a large cash donation made by President William Ruto and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.
President Ruto and Governor Sakaja attended a church service on Sunday, November 17, 2024, at Soweto Catholic Church in Nairobi, where they made significant donations.
Ruto gifted Sh600,000 to the church choir and Sh2 million toward the construction of a house for the parish priest, along with a pledge for an additional Sh3 million for the same project.
He also promised to deliver a bus to the church in January. Sakaja contributed Sh200,000.
However, in a firm response, Nairobi Archdiocese Bishop Philip Anyolo announced that the church would return the donations and would not accept the promised bus.
Citing a directive from the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Anyolo reiterated the church’s policy against accepting financial contributions from politicians, emphasizing the need to prevent political influence within religious spaces.
“The Nairobi Church will maintain a firm stance on politicians' donations, highlighting the Church's need to safeguard itself from being used for political purposes,” Anyolo said.
