Four thumbs-ups and six thumbs-downs came from the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) towards President William Ruto’s administration on Thursday, as the prelates gave a scorecard of the state of affairs in the country so far.
The Cybercrime Bill signed into law on the day former Prime Minister Raila Odinga died, which they said was “enacted in a hurry”, was among the failures they pointed out.
The stable shilling, on the other hand, was one of the four areas where they gave Dr Ruto’s government a kudos.
President William Ruto assents to the Miscellaneous Amendments Bill of 2024 at State House, Nairobi.
Photo credit: PCS
On the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, the bishops said Kenyans’ misgivings should not be ignored.
“Kenyans have raised substantial concerns about the amendments that were signed into law. We strongly recommend a necessary review, lest they be abused to curtail the very freedom they ought to protect. Meaningful public participation would be necessary. The fears Kenyans have expressed regarding these new laws should not be brushed off,” said KCCB, led by its chairman Maurice Muhatia — the Archbishop of Kisumu.
The Act, they said, can be abused “to silence government critics, to abuse the rights to privacy, or even to manipulate the electoral process”.
“We recommend that the offending clauses be expunged and that specificity be provided on who the law targets. These would instil in the public an awareness that the law is meant to protect and expand their rights, enhance public order, and not to injure their freedoms,” said the 31-member bishops’ body.
Despite the Act, whose implementation has been partially halted by court orders, the bishops urged Kenya’s youth not to be afraid of expressing themselves.
“We have always called on the public, especially the youth, to use civil language when raising concerns online. Nevertheless, they should not be intimidated from expressing themselves as active citizens interested in their country’s affairs,” KCCB noted.
In the same vein, they mentioned the Religious Organisations Bill, 2024, which is currently in the public participation stage, warning that the government “should never be seen as attempting to regulate religion”.
Besides the cybercrime law, the other point where the bishops faulted Dr Ruto’s administration is the rolling out of the competency-based education curriculum, which they said has been in an “astounding state of confusion”.
“It would seem decisions have responded more to political expediency than the good of the learners. The rationale, choices and general development of the CBC – which has now taken the CBE tag – have been without clear guidance to the teachers, parents and students,” they said.
“This is a risk to the future of the children going through a system with no clear end expectation. There is still contestation in the syllabus, including the inclusion of religious education,” they added, noting that there is a serious shortage of teachers in rural areas.
“There should be equity in the distribution of the recruited teachers,” they said.
The bishops also sought to magnify the plight of school heads in the country, who are caught in the quicksand of having to run schools without money and without sending children home to bring what their parents ought to pay.
“Schools, through their heads, are expected to manage the ordinary running of the schools with capitation delays, no extra fees from parents and threats that no student should be sent away from school for lack of school fees. We should not gamble with our children’s lives,” said the bishops.
The other fault they identified is the running of the Social Health Authority (SHA), which they said has not been remitting dues to hospitals in a timely fashion.
“The lingering insufficiencies of SHA will eventually cost us dearly. We, the Catholic bishops, still await the payment of all pending arrears owed to our hospitals, any other faith-based hospitals, and private hospitals across the country which are unable to offer basic services due to unpaid and delayed payments,” the prelates said.
Social Health Authority (SHA) signage at Mutuini Hospital in Dagoretti South Sub-County, Nairobi, on August 27, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
“We ask that the matter of huge un-cleared NHIF [National Health Insurance Fund] dues be fast-tracked and paid by government. Many faith-based hospitals are on the brink of closing due to unpaid claims,” they added.
Questioned further, Nyeri Archbishop Anthony Muheria noted that most hospitals are in debt.
“The suppliers are waiting for their money. We need medical supplies. We need to pay the staff. Our hospitals are running on debt, in deep debt, because of these huge areas of our institutions,” he noted.
The bishops also trained their guns on corruption, another fault they raised about the government.
“Reports from the Auditor-General and other oversight bodies confirm that corruption is deeply embedded in government systems, crippling service delivery and undermining national growth,” they said.
“This reminds us that our biggest setback as a country remains the high level of corruption in many of our systems and at all levels of decision-making. We still believe that together we can break the chains of corruption. This begins with confronting the dangerous complacency that has allowed it to become normalised in our country. Despite frequent public outcry and our own repeated calls in the past several years, we continue to witness that massive corruption in government goes on unabated,” they added.
In terms of the positives in Dr Ruto’s administration, KCCB had this to say on the Kenya shilling: “We commend the stabilisation of the Kenyan shilling against the US dollar.”
They also commended the government for its continued investment in the country’s infrastructure, “especially the roads”.
The bishops also applauded the process of recruiting 24,000 teachers by the Teachers Service Commission.
“It is our earnest hope that this exercise will, at the end of the day, have a meaningful impact,” they said.
In the same vein, they expressed happiness in the construction of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in the country.
“We encourage our young people to take advantage of these institutions to get needed skills,” they said.
The bishops also had messages to pass to the general public, key among them being the ongoing voter registration.
“We encourage all, especially the youth, to take up the challenge to view voter registration and participation in the 2027 General Election as a concrete, peaceful, and constructive way to shape Kenya’s future through the electoral processes,” they said, calling on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to increase the number of registration stations “even in the remote areas”.
Women and children survivors of the mudslides which occurred on October 31, in Chesongoch, Kerio Valley of Elgeyo Marakwet County, prepare to sleep in one of the classrooms at Chesongoch Primary School on November 08, 2025.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
They also expressed sympathies towards families affected by landslides in Elgeyo Marakwet and floods in Naivasha, at the same time faulting the government’s agility in dealing with such emergencies.
“As we mourn those who died, we express our solidarity with all the families displaced and those who lost their lives and their loved ones, their property, and livelihoods. We may need to review our speed in responding to these emergencies in order to save lives,” the bishops said.
Equally, they eulogised Mr Odinga, whose death is now a month past. They mourned the former ODM leader as “a gallant son of the soil and a statesman whose life embodied the struggle for democracy”.
“Through decades of selfless service, he contributed immensely to the expansion of the nation’s democratic space, defended freedom for expression, and championed devolution as a path to equitable development,” said the bishops.
“His vision for Kenya was bold and unyielding; one where prosperity, justice, and opportunity would thrive. In moments when he could have chosen division, Raila chose reconciliation. He forgave, embraced dialogue, and consistently fought for the peace and stability of Kenya. His courage and endurance in the pursuit of a just and united Kenya will continue to inspire generations,” they added.
Meanwhile, the burial of former Kakamega Bishop Philip Sulumeti has been scheduled for November 21. The Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (Amecea) says the body of the bishop, who died on Sunday, will be flown to Kisumu and then transported to Kakamega next Thursday.
There will be a requiem Mass, viewing, and vigil Masses at St Joseph Kakamega Cathedral.
“On Friday, the funeral Mass will take place at Bukhungu Stadium, after which the body will be interred in a crypt at the Cathedral Church,” Amecea said on Wednesday.
During the briefing, Rev Muheria said of Rev Sulumeti’s burial: “We hope that the nation, not only the Catholics, will join in bidding farewell to this true hero and true apostle in Kenya.”
