How churches have been caught in political crossfire

It was from the pulpit that President William Ruto’s ascent to the presidency was, in many ways, sanctified.

Churches across the country opened their doors to him and his allies, offering space, legitimacy and moral cover. Clergy invited politicians to address congregants, ostensibly to speak of hope and leadership, but increasingly to seek votes.

The altar became a campaign platform, the church a theatre of politics and a ladder to power.

Three years later, that same sacred space appears violated. The church is bleeding, crying out to be heard and left alone.

With barely a year to the next General Election, churches are emerging as soft targets in Kenya’s simmering political tensions. In a bitter irony, the institution that once helped propel Ruto to State House now finds itself on the receiving end of force wielded by officers under his command.

On Sunday, the solemnity of worship and the constitutional freedom of religion were shattered at Witima ACK Church in Othaya, Nyeri County. Former deputy president and Democracy for the Citizens Party leader Rigathi Gachagua said the attack was aimed at him and his supporters.

As congregants gathered for Sunday service, police lobbed teargas into the church compound, sending clergy and worshippers, including children and elderly people, into chaos. Some fled in panic, children cried, choking and gasping for air. The service ended unceremoniously.

Bishop Gerald Muriithi of the ACK Mt Kenya West Diocese said police and hired goons disrupted the service by throwing teargas canisters and firing live ammunition towards worshippers.

“As a church, we feel our light of worship was violated. Little children were traumatised. Elderly parents were harassed and disoriented. The clergy were terrified and intimidated, and political leaders were also harassed,” Bishop Muriithi said.

He questioned the conduct and mandate of the National Police Service, noting that the events unfolded in full view of officers on the ground.

“It is evident that the goons throwing stones and carrying crude weapons were collaborating with the police in this attack. The burning of vehicles and deflation of tyres happened under the watch of officers who were present,” he added.

“The question is, from whose command and for what purpose were these police vehicles and officers operating? As a church, we have witnessed repeated incidents involving police and goons, mostly in political contexts.”

Church leaders, members of the legal fraternity, human rights organisations and political leaders condemned the incident, terming it a barbaric and deeply worrying trend.

The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) condemned the disruption of the worship service and the desecration of places of worship, saying the National Police Service had violated the constitutional right to worship.

“The deliberate, unwarranted and unprovoked lobbing of teargas canisters at worshippers in a place of worship is illegal, unconstitutional and an attack on the body of Jesus Christ,” said NCCK chairperson Elias Agola. 

The Nyeri incident was not isolated. On July 20, 2025, police used teargas at Africa Inland Church in Subukia, Nakuru County, targeting worshippers leaving a service attended by opposition leaders.

On November 30, 2025, teargas was deployed near the Presbyterian Church of East Africa in Kariobangi North, Nairobi, disrupting an ongoing service.

Earlier this year, on January 11, 2026, police teargassed worshippers in and around AIPCA Church in Kiamworia, Kiambu County, targeting politicians, including Gachagua.

Dr Agola said there had been at least nine instances in the past five years where police attacked worshippers peacefully assembled in churches. He cited an October 4, 2020 incident when teargas was lobbed during a service at AIPCA Church in Kenol, Murang’a.

Following the June 2024 Gen Z protests, police disrupted a prayer service at Chosen Generation Church in Nakuru on July 16, 2024, claiming they were pursuing demonstrators.

On July 25, 2024, teargas was deployed against congregants at All Saints’ Cathedral and Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi. On January 1, 2025, teargas canisters were released inside PEFA Church in Miharati, Nyandarua County, during a New Year vigil.

Sanctuaries, not battlegrounds

The Inter-Religious Council of Kenya said churches are sanctuaries, not battlegrounds, urging politicians and state agencies to keep their disputes away from places of worship.

“The footage of armed people, uniformed and otherwise, lobbing teargas at congregants during a church service is deeply disturbing,” said IRCK chairperson Sheikh Abdullahi Salat and executive director Linus Nthigai.

They said peaceful worshippers posed no threat to public order that could justify such violence, they added. “This incident flies in the face of Kenyans’ clear demand for an end to police brutality and indiscipline,” they stated.

Bishop Hudson Ndeda, national chairman of the Church and Clergy Association of Kenya, said that churches are becoming soft targets for politically-instigated violence. “We urge politicians to attend church like any other worshiper and if they wish, they can address people after the service. If someone is pursuing politicians, wait for them outside and deal with them,” he stated.

He added; If this trend continues, I’m afraid that as we move closer to 2027 it might even get worse. Let there be tolerance, let us allow everybody to sell their visions to Kenyans.

However, he also challenged clergy to stop allowing the pulpit to be politicised, noting that politicians are drawn to ready crowds.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights condemned the incident, citing a growing pattern of attacks on places of worship driven by political intolerance.

“The use of teargas in a church is disproportionate, reckless and unjustifiable,” said KNCHR chairperson Claris Ogangah, calling it a grave breach of the Bill of Rights.

As the country heads towards another high-stakes election, the commission warned that such violence threatens religious freedom, social cohesion and national stability.

Lawyers from the Mt Kenya region, under the GEMA Watho Association, said they would pursue legal action on behalf of victims if oversight bodies failed to act.

Church leaders and rights groups demanded an unqualified apology from the Interior Cabinet Secretary and the Inspector General, alongside swift investigations and prosecutions to restore the sanctity of worship.