Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has lauded the Catholic bishops for their bold stance in highlighting what he described as the unethical dealings of the current administration.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Kalonzo commended the clergy for their commitment to safeguarding the moral and ethical values cherished by Kenyans.
“We commend the Catholic bishops for calling out this regime on its unethical dealings with the people of Kenya that are corroding the basic core values that we cherish as a Kenyan people,” Kalonzo said.
“Because if we also don’t respect our spiritual fathers where are we going to get blessings from?” he posed.
The Wiper leader’s remarks come after the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a strong statement criticising the government for failing to uphold transparency, accountability, and fairness in governance.
The bishops expressed concern over alleged corruption, economic mismanagement, and policies they claimed were burdening the citizens.
The Catholic Church on Thursday warned that the country was heading in the wrong direction and called for an end to the raging abductions allegedly by the state security agencies.
While acknowledging that the government can only raise its revenue through taxes, the bishops regretted that the citizenry are being overtaxed.
They also told the government to fulfill its promises especially on payments to essential service providers as it has continued to harm vulnerable communities.
They cited the neglect of faith-based hospitals which they said is now owed billions in dues by NHIF.
“This is an issue we have addressed constantly even with the president,” KCCB said.
The remarks by the Catholic bishops sparked massive reactions from Government officials and leaders affiliated with the regime who moved with speed to downplay the criticism from the clergy.
Cabinet Secretaries for Education (Julius Migosi) and Health (Debra Barasa) issued statements to clarify the clerics’ claims.
In his response, Migosi denied the bishops’ claims that the country’s education sector is in crisis and on the verge of collapse.
The CS said that the Education sector; particularly the Competency-Based Curriculum and higher education funding are working perfectly
“The government has, therefore, taken proactive measures and invested heavily to ensure that the noble objectives of CBC are achieved through seamless implementation. This, therefore, can hardly be described as crumbling,” Migosi said.
The bishops had said the sector is in disarray as leaders ravel themselves in “selfish agenda, lies, unkept promises and misplaced priorities”.
CS Barasa refuted claims by the bishops that the government’s signature public health insurance, SHIF, is in tatters because faith-based organisations are owed billions.
In a statement on Thursday, Barasa termed the allegations “misleading, erroneous, and false,” stressing the government’s commitment to addressing outstanding debts from the defunct NHIF.
“We are fully committed to clearing the historical debts, and in the past month alone, we mobilised Sh7.58 billion to settle these arrears,” she said,adding that Sh5.05 billion had already been disbursed to various health providers, including Sh938 million to faith-based facilities.
