A storm is brewing in the political landscape after People’s Liberation Party (PLP)leader Martha Karua issued a scathing attack on President William Ruto over his plan to construct a multibillion church at State House.
Karua, a vocal critic of the Kenya Kwanza administration, dismissed the proposed construction as a blatant misuse of public resources and a violation of the principles of state neutrality.
“Not your land, not your money to do as you please,” Karua posted on X official account on Friday, July 4, 2025, in response to the president’s recent confirmation that the controversial church project will proceed.
“This is completely out of order. The State House is public land. Ksh1.2 billion is public money. President Ruto must stop acting like Kenya is his estate,” she said.
President Ruto confirmed his administration’s intention to build a national prayer sanctuary within the State House grounds, saying the decision was final.
“I have no apologies. Kenya will have a House of Prayer at the heart of its leadership,” Ruto declared.
But Karua has sharply criticised the move, framing it as yet another example of what she termed executive arrogance.
“You cannot build a private church using public funds on public land and call it service to God. This government has refused to feed the hungry, educate our children, and pay our doctors, but it has Ksh1.2 billion to build a church at State House?” she posed.
The remarks have added fire to an already tense national mood, with opposition leaders and civil society actors accusing the Ruto administration of misaligned priorities and religious populism.
“Religion should never be weaponised or used to sanitise bad governance. This is not faith. It is impunity wrapped in holy cloth,” she warned.
Karua argued that in a time of economic hardship, ballooning public debt, and widespread youth unemployment, spending such a staggering amount on a single religious building is unjustifiable.
She has vowed to rally like-minded leaders and Kenyans of conscience to resist what she calls theocratic overreach.
“We’re not against prayer. We’re against looting in the name of God,” she said.
Ruto’s church
President Ruto confirmed that he is indeed building a church at the State House, according to a newspaper report on Friday, July 4, 2025.
Speaking at State House on Friday, July 4, 2025, Ruto revealed that he will use his own money to build the church, stating that the building, estimated to cost Ksh1.2 billion, according to the newspaper report, will not cost the government a penny.
“I am one person who believes in God, and I have no apologies to make for constructing a church. Do you understand me? I am not going to be sorry to anyone for building a church. We shall build the church of God,” Ruto said.
“Let the devil protest the decision and do that which he pleases. I am told that the papers are saying that I am building a church here at the State House. It is indeed true; I am building a church here at the State House.”
Ruto equally observed that the church structure he found at the house on the hill was made from an iron sheet and did not meet the standards at the State House.
