Holy Family Basilica Bishop Fr. Ndichu has been accused of denying entrance to Kenyans who were not part of the #occupyParliament protest seeking refuge inside the church in Nairobi.
In a statement, Cyprian Nyamwamu, the Designated Policy and Governance Advisor of Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), expressed deep regret over the incident, highlighting that Fr. Ndichu’s actions have significantly embarrassed the Universal Church.
“Yesterday during the peaceful protests, the Finance Bill in the CBD, Police hurt many protestors and journalists. Some protestors and passers-by in town who were not part of the protests tried to run into the Holy Family Basilica in town for safety,” he said.
“Unfortunately, Fr Ndichu ordered the gates closed so that no one comes into the Basilica compound. I am told that Fr Ndichu’s reasoning was that there is a School inside the Basilica, and this could interfere with learning and other meetings therein.”
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Nyamwamu stated that over the years, the Basilica has remained a major citadel and shrine for pro-democracy and Human Rights campaigns almost at the same level as the All-Saints Cathedral.
He added that police officers cannot enter the Basilica to pursue demonstrators or even lob tear gas into the compound.
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“The Basilica is where Archbishop Ndingi Mwananzeki used to host us on budget days as we marched on Parliament. There is an understanding with the Police that they can never pursue people into a Catholic Church compound,” Nyamwamu added.
“The Catholic Church is revered and respected that much more. We have always hidden ourselves at the Basilica when Catholic parochial was more accessible to the public than it is today.”
He further emphasized that the actions of the Basilica’s leadership have embarrassed the Catholic Church and have portrayed the Universal Church in a very negative light.
“We request you humbly to pass this message to the Basilica leadership so that it is known that this action yesterday has embarrassed the Catholic Church and portrayed the Universal Church in very bad light,” he emphasized.
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Additionally, he said that the Church’s advocacy for social justice, which is anchored on the Principles of Catholic Social Teaching appreciate that the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life comes a head of everything else.
Nyamwamu emphasized that the Church’s voice would have been effectively heard if Rev. Fr. Ndichu had addressed the media from the Basilica, questioning why the police were resorting to violence to disperse innocent, peaceful protesters who posed no harm.
He noted that this should have been done, especially considering that the KCCB had already clearly pronounced its stance against the Finance Bill 2024, similar to its position on the Finance Act 2023.
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