ACK Bishop Beneah Salala now joins politics

Bishop Beneah Salala of ACK Mumias Diocese shakes hand with ANC official Nicholas Meli after being confirmed as life a member. He is set to vie for Matungu parliamentary seat in next year's general election. PHOTO BY IGNATIUS ODANGA

Outspoken Anglican Church of Kenya Bishop Beneah Salala has joined politics.

The Mumias Diocese bishop will seek Amani National Congress (ANC) ticket to contest the Matungu parliamentary seat in next year’s General Election.

Salala joins other aspirants, including constituency ODM chairman Paul Posho, Rodgers Okumu and Peter Nabulindo in the race to dethrone MP David Were.

Were has said he will defend his seat on Jubilee Party (JP) after New Ford Kenya, on whose ticket he was elected in 2013, was dissolved.

He is the longest-serving legislator in Kakamega County after winning the seat in 2002.

Photos of Salala donning a scarf labelled ANC, accompanied by party official Nicholas Meli, went viral on social media yesterday and sparked mixed reactions.

Wide consultations

The cleric, who is set to retire as in October next year, said he had enrolled himself as ANC life member after visiting party headquarters in Nairobi.

“We must work with politicians regardless of party affiliations for the sake of the people. I have joined ANC as a life member,” he said.

Salala said, however, he was consulting widely with opinion leaders and the electorate before launching his ambition. “I am engaging various stakeholders on the ground, seeking their advice before I embark on the race,” he said.

The bishop said he is currently committed to the church but when the right time comes, he will not hesitate to make the move.

Salala is also a scholar and political commentator.

Some local politicians have told him not to expect to find it easy in politics.