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Retiring Anglican archbishop censured by Kenyan president, visited by police
2002-219-3
9/25/2002
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[Episcopal News Service]
Religious leaders have criticized the sudden sacking by President Daniel arap Moi of his vice president, George Saitoti, but in joining the voices of dissent, retiring Anglican Archbishop David Gitari evoked the public wrath of the nation's leader.
The churches in Kenya censured as undemocratic the action on August 31 by the 78-year-old president, who has ruled Kenya for 24 years, but who is expected to stand down after the national elections, scheduled to be held in either December or January. They accused Moi of seeking to impose his own chosen successor on the 30 million Kenyans. The churches joined opposition political parties in calling on the president to name a new vice-president in order to prevent a future vacuum in political leadership.
Gitari and the Rev. Patrick Rukenya, the secretary general of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, issued statements that appeared to show they backed Saitoti, a former academic, as successor to Moi. Strong subsequent remarks attributed to Gitari provoked a robust reaction from Moi, who ordered senior detectives to question the Anglican cleric on what he said.
Gitari's alleged remarks were quoted in The Nation, but the newspaper retracted them on Wednesday and issued an apology to the bishop. The retraction read: 'We reported that Dr. Gitari had criticized President Moi's rule during a farewell sermon at All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, and quoted him as having said that Mr. Kenyatta [Moi's preferred successor], who is the local government minister, 'would not live to see the presidency'. The Nation has since established that his statement at the farewell sermon last Sunday was taken out of context and misrepresented.'
The Nation reported that four detectives visited Gitari's home a few minutes after Moi criticized the Anglican leader. Moi had demanded to know whether Gitari or someone else was planning to kill Kenyatta.
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