Anglican church opposes impeachment plan, ask Ruto and Gachagua to dialogue

According to him, there have been heightened calls for the impeachment of Gachagua from President William Ruto’s side, diving the Presidency.

“We demand that the President and his Deputy embrace dialogue and mutual respect to foster unity for the development of our beloved country,” said Sapit.

He added: “Ours is a call for dialogue, impeachment is not a solution because as per the constitutional framework, the kind of presidency we have today is a joint one where the two are elected in the same election vote and I don’t think impeachment is the way forward. Let the two sit and talk like they did before the elections.”

Sapit said the church has also noted the negative ethnicity, nepotism, and discrimination in government appointments both in National and county governments, which are threatening efforts towards national cohesion.

“We urge the government to prioritise professionalism over nepotism in all areas of public service and governance. By emphasising merit-based appointments, we can ensure that capable and qualified individuals are placed in positions of responsibility, ultimately leading to improved efficiency and accountability,” he said.

During the meeting, the church also rejected the contentious Religious Regulations Bill sponsored by Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana.

“We note that there is a Religious organisations bill before the Senate seeking to regulate the operations of the Churches in Kenya. The mission of the church is spelt out by respective religious organisations’ constitutions and any attempts to enact a law that interferes with the operations of the church is unacceptable," said Sapit.

The clergy said the Bill lacked public participation and should be withdrawn.

"We therefore reject the bill and demand its withdrawal. There was no public participation where the church was involved, it then should be withdrawn then the church is part of the discussion before it is tabled in the Senate.”

The Bill, which was tabled on September 11 before the Senate, seeks to provide a legislative framework for the regulation and registration of religious organisations.

If passed, churches will be required to pay taxes on income, gifts or profits generated from lawful activities.

Sapit said there is a need for all church denominations in the country to sit together and collectively come up with one way forward on the Bill.

According to the Bill, the revenue would only be exempt from taxation if they are entirely allocated to charitable causes.

The Anglican church also called for the immediate reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC).

They argued that this will make it possible for the country to be ready for the 2027 elections and also to fill vacant seats.