{"id":50521,"date":"2025-07-04T14:29:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T18:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/kenyan-leader-to-build-huge-church-at-presidential-office\/04\/07\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-07-04T14:29:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T18:29:59","slug":"kenyan-leader-to-build-huge-church-at-presidential-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/kenyan-leader-to-build-huge-church-at-presidential-office\/04\/07\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenyan leader to build huge church at presidential office"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Kenyan President William Ruto says he is building a church at the presidential residence in Nairobi that he will pay for himself – and says he has nothing to apologise for.<\/p>\n

“I am not going to ask anyone for an apology for building a church. The devil might be angry and can do what he wants,” Ruto said on Friday.<\/p>\n

That statement alone has angered Kenyans already frustrated with his style of leadership and what they regard as the entanglement of the state and the church.<\/p>\n

The BBC has asked the government for comment.<\/p>\n

It is not clear who Ruto was referring to as “the devil” in his comments at State House, but he says nothing will stop the project from going ahead.<\/p>\n

“I did not start building this church when I entered the State House. I found a church but one made out of iron sheets. Does that look befitting for the State House?” a defiant Ruto told politicians at a meeting he hosted on Friday.<\/p>\n

On Friday, one of Kenya’s leading newspapers, the Daily Nation, published architectural designs showing a large building with stained glass windows and capacity for 8,000 people.<\/p>\n

The paper questioned whether the project was in keeping with Kenya’s secular constitution.<\/p>\n

There has also been criticism of the cost, estimated at $9m (\u00a36.5bn), at a time when many Kenyans are struggling with the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n

Ruto said he would pay for the church out of his own pocket, however that raises the question of whether he has the right to build such a large structure on state-owned property.<\/p>\n

The Atheists Society of Kenya is threatening legal action to stop the church being built, calling it shocking and unacceptable.<\/p>\n

“We view this action as anti-democratic and a promotion of Christin nationalism by President Ruto. We want to remind him that Kenya does not belong to Christians only,” said the group’s head, Harrison Mumia.<\/p>\n

William Ruto is Kenya’s first evangelical Christian president, cultivating a pious image and earning him the nickname of “deputy Jesus”.<\/p>\n

During his many years in public office he has been known to quote scripture and cry in public<\/a> – behaviour that has long alienated some Kenyans.<\/p>\n

Back when Ruto was the deputy president, he erected a church at his government residence in the suburb of Karen, using it to host religious leaders of various faiths.<\/p>\n

While roughly 85% of Kenyans are Christian, there is also a large Muslim population of about 11%, along with other minority faiths including Hinduism and traditional African religions.<\/p>\n

There is no mosque or temple at the presidency.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Nairobi’s Catholic Archbishop Philip Anyolo says clarity is urgently needed about the type of structure being built, otherwise it might be seen to favour one Christian denomination over others.<\/p>\n

“We have to be very cautious with this. Such a structure ought to have been built in an area that is not a public institution. Unless what is being built is a chaplaincy, but that is also not clear.”<\/p>\n

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