Embu Catholic Bishop Paul Kariuki on Tuesday, September 24, came out to defend the remarks he made on Sunday, September 22, concerning Deputy President William Ruto.
Reports by The Star indicated that the Bishop explained that his comments on Kieleweke and Tangatanga movements were misunderstood.
The Bishop had compared Ruto to a productive honeybee, which flies off to far distances to seek raw materials to make honey while his rivals are houseflies that hover around filth.
Speaking to journalists in his office, Kariuki pointed out that he was only appreciating and encouraging Ruto to continue with his development tours around the country.
Kariuki went ahead to disclose that his example of a bee was not meant only for the DP but for other Christians as well.
“And I gave the example of our Deputy President who goes around the country to see how government money is spent as well as identifying what needs to be done,” he explained.
This stir on social media was as a result of the u-turn on his stand on politicking in church after Ruto’s generous donation of Ksh 900,000.
In 2016, the bishop had banned politicians from church harambees in 2016 but on that particular Sunday praised Ruto and condemned his enemies.
While defending his claims, he further condemned the infighting in the Jubilee government urging its leaders to unite and work for Kenyans despite their political differences.
“Jubilee government is a divided house that needs to be reminded that they were elected under one umbrella, hence the need to put their house in order to avoid criticism,” advised the Bishop.
In addition, Kariuki warned leaders against engaging in early campaigns as it was prone to divide Kenyans.
“If it is overdone, then it is not proper because in every movement there are expenses. The deputy president does not move alone, he moves with a group of people,” he added.
The bishop also explained that politicians were welcomed to participate in church events because they were also Christians.
“While we welcome politicians, because they are also our believers, they are welcome to come and worship like the other Christians and if the Christians are having any kind of fundraising or offering they also fully participate like any other Christian,” he urged.
He further defended his Sunday utterances stating that the event was an annual celebration on the anniversary of the church, which is also used to support the diocese.
“After mass, we had contributions and we welcomed all those who had come to participate,” he said.
“You will agree with me that harambees have really helped. Schools that even became national schools were put up through harambee,” the bishop stated.
He suggested that without the participation of politicians in harambees, most public institutions would not be in existence.
“The philosophy of Harambee is very good except when it is abused and contributions are given to influence people negatively,” warned Kariuki.
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