Kenyan leader to build huge church at presidential office
"I am not going to ask anyone for an apology for building a church. The devil might be angry and can do what he wants," President Ruto said on Friday.
That statement alone has angered Kenyans already frustrated with his style of leadership and what they regard as the entanglement of the state and the church.
The BBC has asked the government for comment.
It is not clear who Ruto was referring to as "the devil" in his comments at state house, but he says nothing will stop the project from going ahead.
On Friday one of Kenya's leading newspapers - the Daily Nation - published architectural designs showing a large building with stained glass windows and capacity for 8,000 people.
The paper questioned whether the project was in keeping with Kenya's secular constitution.
There has also been criticism of the cost, estimated at $9m (£6.5bn) at a when time many Kenyans are struggling with the rising cost of living.
Ruto said he would pay for the church out of his own pocket, however that raises the question of whether he has the right to build such a large structure on state-owned property.
In an open letter, one MP said Kenya was not a Christian state andbelonged to people of all religions.
The diverse East African nation is also home to many of followers of Islam, Hinduism and traditional African religions - as well as some agnostics and atheists.
There is no mosque or temple at the presidency.
"I did not start building this church when I entered the State House. I found a church but one made out of iron sheets. Does that look befitting for the State House?" a defiant Ruto told politicians at a meeting he hosted on Friday.
El Chapo & Deputy Jesus - why Kenya's president has so many nicknames
Why Kenya's evangelical president has fallen out with churches
How African popes changed Christianity - and gave us Valentine's Day
Ghana to investigate ex-president's controversial $400m cathedral project
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Focus on Africa
This Is Africa
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
How deals with Apple and Trump's Pentagon turned rare earth miner MP Materials into a red-hot stock
California miner MP Materials struck metaphorical gold in July when it announced a landmark deal with the Trump administration to make the Defense Department its largest shareholder, followed up days later by an expansion agreement with Apple. But what MP actually mines—so-called rare earth elements that are central to many of the world's most important technologies—appears to be even more precious than gold to investors. MP is the nation's only rare earths miner, at a time when the U.S. aspires to compete against China's supply-chain dominance in the field. Its share price has spiked an astonishing 365% year to date, including a 150% surge in just over a month. MP's market cap has risen from just over $2 billion to $13 billion, entering large-cap territory—not bad for a company that brought in just $204 million in revenue last year. It's a rise comparable to that of Silicon Valley defense firm Palantir—but with all due respect to that AI-fueled company, Palantir's stock has risen by only 140% year to date. 'I give MP credit for having the foresight and for being in the right place at the right time,' Ben Kallo, Baird senior research analyst, told Fortune. 'I think it's surprising because I didn't believe the government would react in such a quick and forceful way. 'I think the fire is in the belly of supply-chain managers to move away from China right now.' MP also is the nation's only vertically integrated miner and specialty magnets producer, having just opened a metals and neodymium magnets plant in Fort Worth. Not one to miss a marketing opportunity, MP named that plant 'Independence.' The powerful magnets are as critically important as they are little-known. They are used in electric vehicles, renewable energy, mobile phones, military equipment, and, most recently, AI data centers. General Motors was MP's first flagship customer for magnets. From a military standpoint, the magnets are just as crucial: They're used in drones, fighter jets, missile systems, and nuclear submarines. More than 80% of the world's neodymium magnet supply is manufactured in China. The U.S. counts a few manufacturers, while China has a few hundred. 'Rare earth' materials actually are not rare, but they are expensive to separate and refine. That growth takes financial support. The Defense Department bought $400 million worth of MP shares in July to become a 15% shareholder; on Aug. 10, it backed up its initial deal with an additional $150 million loan to MP to help expand its mining operations in Mountain Pass, Calif. 'We are taking decisive action to restore our domestic critical minerals supply chain, revive our industrial base, and rebuild our military to achieve President Trump's goal of peace through strength,' said Emil Michael, defense undersecretary for research and engineering, in a statement. Michael is a former top executive at Uber. Even apart from the military, both MP and the administration see the company growing because of the AI boom. 'We have the platform, the partners, and the perspective to seize another enormous runway of opportunity,' said MP founder, chairman, and CEO James Litinsky on the company's Aug. 7 earnings call. 'And it does not hurt that we have a front-row seat and an important role in what may well become the most significant business transformation of our generation, the era of physical AI.' The rise of MP MP is built on the ashes of the former mine owner Molycorp and its Mountain Pass facilities. A decade ago, Molycorp was failing because of heavy indebtedness and China's price dumping into the global rare earths markets. Seeing the thesis case for domestic rare earths mining, Litinsky and his eponymously named JHL Capital Group hedge fund bought into Molycorp's bonds during its 2015 bankruptcy proceedings. Litinsky eventually folded his fund to buy the Mountain Pass assets outright and form MP Materials in 2017. Litinsky had previously worked at the New York–based Fortress Investment Group, and MP Materials went public in 2020 when it merged with one of Fortress's several special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, in a $1.47 billion deal. 'One of the biggest question marks and pushback was, 'How can these finance guys operate a mine and make it work?'' Kallo said. But MP cleaned up its mining operations, kept debt low, and focused on vertical integration and growth. 'They've surprised to the upside.' The Independence plant opened in January, and MP was looking at a smoother growth trajectory. But in the spring, the onslaught of Trump's tariff war shook things up, and companies began to realize they shouldn't rely on Chinese supply chains so heavily. 'A lot of companies didn't realize their magnets came from China,' Kallo said. 'It woke a lot of people up. These magnets go into everything.' This is when the Wall Street–ization of the Defense Department under the second Trump administration came into play. Steve Feinberg, the new U.S. deputy secretary of defense, is the billionaire cofounder of Cerberus Capital Management. Feinberg spearheaded the unusual, landmark deal with Litinsky. It not only made the Pentagon a 15% shareholder, it included the pledge of a multibillion-dollar total investment as MP aims to expand its magnet production capacity 10-fold. That expansion is expected to be completed in 2028. The deal also puts a floor on pricing for MP's rare earth materials for 10 years, helping offset the possibility of foreign price dumping. A Defense Department spokesperson told Fortune: 'Rebuilding the critical minerals and rare earth magnet sectors of the U.S. industrial base won't happen overnight, but DOD is taking immediate action to streamline processes and identify opportunities to strengthen critical minerals production.' Four days after the Pentagon deal announcement, on July 15, MP announced a $500 million partnership with Apple to supply rare earth magnets that are fully manufactured from recycled materials, a pledge that would entail recycling expansions at both the Mountain Pass and Fort Worth facilities. MP and Apple had piloted advanced recycling technologies for five years before announcing the deal. 'American innovation drives everything we do at Apple, and we're proud to deepen our investment in the U.S. economy,' said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement. 'Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States.' MP used to ship more of its raw materials to China because of a lack of U.S. refining capacity. One potential stumbling block for MP was its smaller ownership stake still held by China's Shenghe Resources, which had helped Litinsky buy out Molycorp in 2017. But the larger U.S. government ownership position combined with the new pricing floor and Chinese tariffs on U.S. exports has allowed MP to cease its exports to China as of April. 'We are maniacally focused on investing and executing in the United States of America,' Litinsky said on his earnings call. He emphasized, 'Through years of relentless execution, this team has transformed a bankrupted and abandoned mine site into a vertically integrated American national champion with a strategic and economic platform that matters.' This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNN
6 hours ago
- CNN
Israel is in talks to possibly resettle Palestinians from Gaza in South Sudan
Israel is in discussions with South Sudan about the possibility of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the war-torn East African country, part of a wider effort by Israel to facilitate mass emigration from the territory left in ruins by its 22-month offensive against Hamas. Six people familiar with the matter confirmed the talks to The Associated Press. It's unclear how far the talks have advanced, but if implemented, the plans would amount to transferring people from one war-ravaged land at risk of famine to another, and raise human rights concerns. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants to realize US President Donald Trump's vision of relocating much of Gaza's population through what Netanyahu refers to as 'voluntary migration.' Israel has floated similar resettlement proposals with other African nations. 'I think that the right thing to do, even according to the laws of war as I know them, is to allow the population to leave, and then you go in with all your might against the enemy who remains there,' Netanyahu said Tuesday in an interview with i24, and Israeli TV station. He did not make reference to South Sudan. Palestinians, rights groups, and much of the international community have rejected the proposals as a blueprint for forcible expulsion in violation of international law. For South Sudan, such a deal could help it build closer ties to Israel, now the almost unchallenged military power in the Middle East. It is also a potential inroad to Trump, who broached the idea of resettling Gaza's population in February but appears to have backed away in recent months. Israel's foreign ministry declined to comment and South Sudan's foreign minister did not respond to questions about the talks. A US State Department spokesperson said it doesn't comment on private diplomatic conversations. Joe Szlavik, the founder of a US lobbying firm working with South Sudan, said he was briefed by South Sudanese officials on the talks. He said an Israeli delegation plans to visit the country to look into the possibility of setting up camps for Palestinians there. No known date has been set for the visit. Israel did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of the visit. Szlavik said Israel would likely pay for makeshift camps. Edmund Yakani, who heads a South Sudanese civil society group, said he had also spoken to South Sudanese officials about the talks. Four additional officials with knowledge of the discussions confirmed talks were taking place on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss them publicly. Two of the officials, both from Egypt, told AP they've known for months about Israel's efforts to find a country to accept Palestinians, including its contact with South Sudan. They said they've been lobbying South Sudan against taking the Palestinians. Egypt is deeply opposed to plans to transfer Palestinians out of Gaza, with which it shares a border, fearing an influx of refugees into its own territory. The AP previously reported on similar talks initiated by Israel and the US with Sudan and Somalia, countries that are also grappling with war and hunger, and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland. The status of those discussions is not known. Szlavik, who's been hired by South Sudan to improve its relations with the United States, said the US is aware of the discussions with Israel but is not directly involved. South Sudan wants the Trump administration to lift a travel ban on the country and remove sanctions from some South Sudanese elites, said Szlavik. It has already accepted eight individuals swept up in the administration's mass deportations, in what may have been an effort to curry favor. The Trump administration has pressured a number of countries to help facilitate deportations. 'Cash-strapped South Sudan needs any ally, financial gain and diplomatic security it can get,' said Peter Martell, a journalist and author of a book about the country, 'First Raise a Flag.' Israel's Mossad spy agency provided aid to the South Sudanese during their decades-long civil war against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum ahead of independence in 2011, according to the book. The State Department, asked if there was any quid pro quo with South Sudan, said decisions on the issuing of visas are made 'in a way that prioritizes upholding the highest standards for US national security, public safety, and the enforcement of our immigration laws.' Many Palestinians might want to leave Gaza, at least temporarily, to escape the war and a hunger crisis bordering on famine. But they have roundly rejected any permanent resettlement from what they see as an integral part of their national homeland. They fear that Israel will never allow them to return, and that a mass departure would allow it to annex Gaza and reestablish Jewish settlements there, as called for by far-right ministers in the Israeli government. Still, even those Palestinians who want to leave are unlikely to take their chances in South Sudan, among the world's most unstable and conflict-ridden countries. South Sudan has struggled to recover from a civil war that broke out after independence, and which killed nearly 400,000 people and plunged pockets of the country into famine. The oil-rich country is plagued by corruption and relies on international aid to help feed its 11 million people – a challenge that has only grown since the Trump administration made sweeping cuts to foreign assistance. A peace deal reached seven years ago has been fragile and incomplete, and the threat of war returned when the main opposition leader was placed under house arrest this year. Palestinians in particular could find themselves unwelcome. The long war for independence from Sudan pitted the mostly Christian and animist south against the predominantly Arab and Muslim north. Yakani, of the civil society group, said South Sudanese would need to know who is coming and how long they plan to stay, or there could be hostilities due to the 'historical issues with Muslims and Arabs.' 'South Sudan should not become a dumping ground for people,' he said. 'And it should not accept to take people as negotiating chips to improve relations.'
CNN
7 hours ago
- CNN
Israel is in talks to possibly resettle Palestinians from Gaza in South Sudan
Israel is in discussions with South Sudan about the possibility of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the war-torn East African country, part of a wider effort by Israel to facilitate mass emigration from the territory left in ruins by its 22-month offensive against Hamas. Six people familiar with the matter confirmed the talks to The Associated Press. It's unclear how far the talks have advanced, but if implemented, the plans would amount to transferring people from one war-ravaged land at risk of famine to another, and raise human rights concerns. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants to realize US President Donald Trump's vision of relocating much of Gaza's population through what Netanyahu refers to as 'voluntary migration.' Israel has floated similar resettlement proposals with other African nations. 'I think that the right thing to do, even according to the laws of war as I know them, is to allow the population to leave, and then you go in with all your might against the enemy who remains there,' Netanyahu said Tuesday in an interview with i24, and Israeli TV station. He did not make reference to South Sudan. Palestinians, rights groups, and much of the international community have rejected the proposals as a blueprint for forcible expulsion in violation of international law. For South Sudan, such a deal could help it build closer ties to Israel, now the almost unchallenged military power in the Middle East. It is also a potential inroad to Trump, who broached the idea of resettling Gaza's population in February but appears to have backed away in recent months. Israel's foreign ministry declined to comment and South Sudan's foreign minister did not respond to questions about the talks. A US State Department spokesperson said it doesn't comment on private diplomatic conversations. Joe Szlavik, the founder of a US lobbying firm working with South Sudan, said he was briefed by South Sudanese officials on the talks. He said an Israeli delegation plans to visit the country to look into the possibility of setting up camps for Palestinians there. No known date has been set for the visit. Israel did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of the visit. Szlavik said Israel would likely pay for makeshift camps. Edmund Yakani, who heads a South Sudanese civil society group, said he had also spoken to South Sudanese officials about the talks. Four additional officials with knowledge of the discussions confirmed talks were taking place on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss them publicly. Two of the officials, both from Egypt, told AP they've known for months about Israel's efforts to find a country to accept Palestinians, including its contact with South Sudan. They said they've been lobbying South Sudan against taking the Palestinians. Egypt is deeply opposed to plans to transfer Palestinians out of Gaza, with which it shares a border, fearing an influx of refugees into its own territory. The AP previously reported on similar talks initiated by Israel and the US with Sudan and Somalia, countries that are also grappling with war and hunger, and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland. The status of those discussions is not known. Szlavik, who's been hired by South Sudan to improve its relations with the United States, said the US is aware of the discussions with Israel but is not directly involved. South Sudan wants the Trump administration to lift a travel ban on the country and remove sanctions from some South Sudanese elites, said Szlavik. It has already accepted eight individuals swept up in the administration's mass deportations, in what may have been an effort to curry favor. The Trump administration has pressured a number of countries to help facilitate deportations. 'Cash-strapped South Sudan needs any ally, financial gain and diplomatic security it can get,' said Peter Martell, a journalist and author of a book about the country, 'First Raise a Flag.' Israel's Mossad spy agency provided aid to the South Sudanese during their decades-long civil war against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum ahead of independence in 2011, according to the book. The State Department, asked if there was any quid pro quo with South Sudan, said decisions on the issuing of visas are made 'in a way that prioritizes upholding the highest standards for US national security, public safety, and the enforcement of our immigration laws.' Many Palestinians might want to leave Gaza, at least temporarily, to escape the war and a hunger crisis bordering on famine. But they have roundly rejected any permanent resettlement from what they see as an integral part of their national homeland. They fear that Israel will never allow them to return, and that a mass departure would allow it to annex Gaza and reestablish Jewish settlements there, as called for by far-right ministers in the Israeli government. Still, even those Palestinians who want to leave are unlikely to take their chances in South Sudan, among the world's most unstable and conflict-ridden countries. South Sudan has struggled to recover from a civil war that broke out after independence, and which killed nearly 400,000 people and plunged pockets of the country into famine. The oil-rich country is plagued by corruption and relies on international aid to help feed its 11 million people – a challenge that has only grown since the Trump administration made sweeping cuts to foreign assistance. A peace deal reached seven years ago has been fragile and incomplete, and the threat of war returned when the main opposition leader was placed under house arrest this year. Palestinians in particular could find themselves unwelcome. The long war for independence from Sudan pitted the mostly Christian and animist south against the predominantly Arab and Muslim north. Yakani, of the civil society group, said South Sudanese would need to know who is coming and how long they plan to stay, or there could be hostilities due to the 'historical issues with Muslims and Arabs.' 'South Sudan should not become a dumping ground for people,' he said. 'And it should not accept to take people as negotiating chips to improve relations.'
