The politician had earlier urged the church to respect the Kenya Kwanza government and avoid what she termed as “demeaning authority” and “inciting denominations.”
Taking to her X account on Tuesday, November 19, Jematiah posted, “The Church should respect the authority in power.
Stop demeaning the government and unnecessarily inciting other denominations.
Churches are to do their work of hope and faith to the believers.” However, her statement did not sit well with Kenyans, who criticized her for undermining the church’s role in governance and society.
The backlash was immediate, with many Kenyans taking to social media to express their disappointment.
Some users questioned her understanding of the church’s role, while others demanded that she retract her statement. Faced with mounting criticism, Jematiah decided to issue an apology.
In her follow-up post, Jematiah retracted her earlier statement and apologized to both Kenyans and the church.
“Hello Kenyans, I have gone through all the comments on my previous post about Churches.
I hereby withdraw my statement and apologize. I had to agree with you all that churches should be left to do their work and can include oversight because believers are citizens,” she stated.
Her apology was met with mixed reactions. While some appreciated her willingness to admit her mistake, others demanded that she delete the initial controversial post from her X account.
Comments ranged from praise for her humility to calls for a more responsible approach in her future statements.
This incident comes shortly after Kapsaret MP Oscar Sudi also apologized to the clergy. Sudi’s apology followed the rejection of President Ruto's KSh 5.6 million donation to the Soweto Catholic Church in Nairobi.
He acknowledged that his actions may have offended the church and emphasized the importance of mutual respect between the government and religious institutions.
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