This archive report was first published on 13 October 2019.
Francis Atwoli, the Secretary General of the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU), has made a sensational claim that the Catholic Church in Kenya was used to clean millions of shillings obtained from corrupt dealings.
Atwoli made the allegations during a funds drive in Bukwala, where he claimed that Catholic priests exchanged millions of shillings obtained from corruption on behalf of corrupt politicians and unscrupulous businessmen.
He alleged that corrupt individuals who had stashed millions of shillings in their homes flocked Catholic churches with donations in a bid to beat the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) deadline of 30 September when the old generation 1000 shillings note ceased to be a legal tender.
“The Catholic Church, which happens to be my church, has done what the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church would not do. It is the only church that agreed to take money obtained from corrupt dealings until the Bishops later realized what was happening,” Atwoli stated.
He explained that the Catholic priests would receive millions in donations from questionable individuals and deposit it in banks before withdrawing a section of the initial donation in new currency notes and handing it back to the individuals.
“They cleaned up so much stolen funds. They would be given Ksh. 5 million which they would deposit in banks. Afterwards, they would withdraw 4 million and hand it back to the corrupt individuals and remain with 1 million shillings,” Atwoli affirmed.
Atwoli lauded the SDA Church for refusing to join the criminal enterprise in its exploits in cleaning huge sums of money whose sources are questionable.
He urged the clergy to be content with genuine donations instead of joining the corrupt in their exploits at a time when the country’s economy is bleeding from corruption.
“We might not give you a lot of money but this is genuine unlike those who bring millions of stolen funds and are cheered every other weekend,” Atwoli stated.
Following Atwoli’s allegations, the Catholic Church in Kenya has cracked the whip, banning all cash donations exceeding Ksh. 50,000 in funds drives across the country.
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has directed that it would only accept electronic transfer of donation that will leave a clear trail of donors for accountability sake.
“Henceforth, fundraisers in the church will be done by mobile money transfer or by cheque. This will avoid handling of huge amounts of cash and give a clear trail of the donors,” KCCB Chairman Bishop Philip Anyolo stated.
