In a surprising turn of events, Baringo Woman Representative Florence Jematiah has withdrawn her controversial statement targeting Kenyan churches.
Jematiah, in a brief statement published on her social media accounts on Wednesday, November 20, expressed remorse, adding that she withdrew the statement after going through the comments of her previous post.
According to the woman representative, she was convinced by responses shared by Kenyans that churches should be left to do their work and can include oversight because believers are citizens.
“I have gone through all the comments on my previous post about Churches. I hereby withdraw my statement and apologise. I have to agree with you all that churches should be left to do their work,” MP Jematian wrote.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) lawmaker in her previous post shared on the morning of Tuesday, November 19, took a swipe at Kenyan churches accusing them of disrespecting President William Ruto’s administration.
In her controversial post, the lawmaker urged the church to stop demeaning the government and unnecessarily inciting other denominations into staging wrangles with the Kenya Kwanza regime.
“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. Good morning!” Jematiah stated.
Following the remarks, Kenyans online strongly criticised the legislator, with some alleging that she lacked the moral capacity to lecture church leaders on how to conduct themselves particularly when addressing the president.
“You possess neither the ethical standing nor the moral probity to pontificate to the church on any matter,” commented lawyer Willis Otieno.
"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," commented another online user.
Jematiah's change of stance comes a week after the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) accused the government of perpetuating a culture of lies, over-taxation, and violation of human rights as well as failing to resolve the health and education crisis in Kenya.
In response, President Ruto commented saying, "We must be careful to give factual information lest we become victims of the things we accuse others of doing." Other politicians allied to Ruto's government also hit back at the clergy, accusing it of fuelling misinformation.
