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.
“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.
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.
The BBC has asked the government for comment.
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.
“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.
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.
The paper questioned whether the project was in keeping with Kenya’s secular constitution.
There has also been criticism of the cost, estimated at $9m (£6.5m), at a time when many Kenyans are struggling with the rising cost of living.
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.
The Atheists Society of Kenya is threatening legal action to stop the church being built, calling it shocking and unacceptable.
“We view this action as anti-democratic and a promotion of Christian nationalism by President Ruto. We want to remind him that Kenya does not belong to Christians only,” said the group’s head, Harrison Mumia.
William Ruto is Kenya’s first evangelical Christian president, cultivating a pious image and earning him the nickname of “deputy Jesus”.
During his many years in public office he has been known to quote scripture and cry in public – behaviour that has long alienated some Kenyans.
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.
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.
There is no mosque or temple at the presidency.
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.
“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.”
