John Cardinal Njue has continued to disappoint political progressives in Kenya because of his lukewarm attitude towards bad, evil manners of the political class, particularly the ruling elite.
After the papal speeches at Kangemi and Kasarani exhorting the ruling elite to practise targeted economic budgeting to free the poor from horrific squalor in urban slums and scattered rural areas, Njue has not done what was required of him.
The Pope spoke at great length about the evil effects of corruption on unsuspecting poor, saying critical resources are diverted towards the pockets of a few while the poor make do without water, medical support, quality education and food.
Had these speeches been given by economist David Ndii, nobody would have given him a second glance. But coming from the leader of over 1.5 billion Catholics (including the huge unknown number in China), only a highly dismissive leader would fail to take notice.
Many expect Njue to give his views to the Treasury group currently collecting views from the public on this year’s budget. However, to our utter disappointment, the cardinal has not led Catholics’ economic think-tank to give papal views on alleviation of dehumanising poverty among the poor, including police officers who live in mud and tin huts all over the country.
The Pope asked the ruling elite in Kenya stop grabbing land meant as play grounds and schools. He asked that the Government invest in affordable decent housing.
What came to my mind when I heard him mention this is that the Government provides civil servants with cheap housing on tenant purchase terms (you pay rent as mortgage and end up owning the house you live in); and where this is not available due to budgetary constraints, mortgage at 5 per cent.
In the life outside public service, you and me must pay an interest rate of between 18 per cent and 23 per cent so that a cartel of criminals who own banks can become wealthy.
The cardinal is head of a church that gives the Government stiff competition in provision of basic services like health and education. Over 30 per cent of health facilities in Kenya are owned by the Catholic administration. Catholic-sponsored schools, and in some cases the only ones the poor in remote areas have access to, run into thousands.
So Cardinal Njue is committing an error when he fails to do an instruction to all churches to dedicate at least 10 minutes in every mass sermon preaching against corruption, against worshipping those who bribe voters, those churches accepting harambee from known looters, those who cannot explain their source of money. He needs to tell his priests to attend courses explaining the logic behind lifestyle audits of public servants.
This is what the Pope was talking about. Being a papal appointee, it is wrong for the cardinal to appear like he hardly shares the pro-poor sentiments with equal enthusiasm.
To quote Saint Thomas More: “Men desire authority for its own sake that they may bear a rule, command and control other men, and live uncommanded and uncontrolled themselves.”
It is wrong for Njue to keep quiet when the rule of law has so precipitously collapsed that, for example, coffee farmers can only watch in horror as their produce is looted as the Government watches unconcerned. Farmers are church’s clients, are they not? Why then this deafening silence about their plight?
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