The announcement of the death of Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, has brought back memories for Kenyans and the African continent, especially his plea to government to protect the youth.
When the Pope visited Kenya for three days from November 25 to 27, 2015, he encouraged President Uhuru Kenyatta's government to involve young people in its leadership.
“The young are any nation’s most valuable resource. To protect them, to invest in them, and to offer them a helping hand is the best way we can secure a future, worthy of the wisdom, a spiritual values dear to their elders, values which are the very heart and soul of a people,” the Pope said in his speech at State House.
“I urge you to serve genuine concern for the needs of the poor. The aspiration of the young and unjust distribution of natural and human resources which the creator has blessed your country.”
Years later, during Kenya's Gen Z uprising in 2024, the Pope would — through his representative in Nairobi — once again pronounced himself on the importance of involving the youth in national decision making. This time, the church's message would be directed at President William Ruto's government.
Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya Archbishop Hubertus van Megen.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Amid anti-Finance Bill protests that eventually forced Dr Ruto to withdraw the draconian proposed law, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, the Pope's representative, had this to say:
"We have witnessed a revolution in Nairobi. What happens after this? Politics in this country will have to change...Youths in the streets turned tables, turning tables in Parliament, turning tables of the money changers, wanting to cleanse the temple of democracy," he was quoted saying on June 29, 2024, at the Vincentian Prayer House in Lavington, Nairobi.
"Youths on the streets wanted to get Zacchaeus out of the tree, wanted to get Peter to admit to his betrayal, these days we have witnessed a revolution in Nairobi."
He also reminded the Catholic Church that it should not be disconnected from the political events in the country, and appreciated the support given to protesters from the Cathedral of the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi.
Protesters confront police officers along Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi during the anti-Finance Bill protests on July 2, 2024.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
The comments angered the Kenya Kwanza government. Kenya lodged a formal complaint with the Vatican and accused the Pope’s top diplomat in Nairobi of using his position to criticise President Ruto's government.
In a diplomatic note dated August 12, Kenya said:
"It is regrettable that the above undiplomatic and inflammatory utterances by the Archbishop were one-sided and were made at a time of grave national crisis...The Nuncio chose to use his exalted position to berate the government of Kenya and its institutions. We find this conduct to be reprehensible and unbecoming of a distinguished member of the diplomatic corps," the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
During his address to Parliament in 2015, the Pope had called on Kenyan leaders to fight corruption and promote peace and unity in the country.
Pope Francis gives a speech on November 25, 2025 at State House, Nairobi during his visit to Kenya. He is with then president Uhuru Kenyatta (right).
Photo credit: Gerald Anderson
He also visited Kangemi at St Joseph the Worker church, where he observed the poor condition in the slums and called for the inclusion of the people from such areas to uplift their livelihood.
“If there is a serious problem in this regard, it is the lack of access to infrastructure and basic services. By this I mean toilets, sewers, drains, refuse collection, electricity, roads as well as schools, hospital, recreational and sports centers, studios and workshops for artists and craftsman. I refer in particular the access to drinking water. Access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right since it is essential to human survival and such is a condition for the exercise of other human rights.”
The country also held one of its biggest mass to celebrate the Pope at the University of Nairobi grounds, where an outstanding Papal Dais was built for his address.
Pope Francis (centre) kisses the altar as he starts the Papal mass in Kenya's capital Nairobi, November 26, 2015.
Photo credit: Reuters
The open-air mass attracted a large crowd, including the former president.
