Kenya police have fired tear gas to disperse protesters who sought to occupy a church that recently received a substantial donation from President William Ruto.
The gift to Jesus’ winner in the Rocku de Nairobi suburb of 20 million shillings ($ 155,000; £ 120,000) led to criticism of some young Kenyans who were fighting at the high cost of their lives.
Ruto has defended his donation and offered a gift similar to another church in Eldoret.
Last year, both the Catholic and Anglican leaders of Kenya rejected donations, arguing that the Church had to be protected from using political purposes.
Several people have been arrested during clashes, who saw protesters attempted to enter the church and light fires and use rocks to block nearby roads.
But the church service advanced with close security for the faithful, a report of the local media.
Bishop Edward Mwai said that unnamed people had mobilized « thugs » to interrupt Church service, reports Star’s website.
Ruto, an evangelical Christian, defended the donation, saying that it was an attempt to lead to the moral decline of the country.
« Kenya has to know God because we are embarrassed by the people who tell us that we cannot associate -the place of the nation cited him to another church, in Eldoret.
The Kenyans have been angry at a series of tax hikes introduced since Ruto was elected in 2022.
He says they were needed to pay the huge debts he inherited from the previous government, but many Kenyans argue that he had to deal with public waste first and corruption.
Last year, a wave of national protests forced Ruto to withdraw his finance bill, which contained a series of tax hikes.
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