Karua accuses Ruto of personalising State House with church project
By Cy Muganda, July 8, 2025People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua has criticised President William Ruto for what she termed as attempts to personalise State House, accusing him of treating the seat of power as private property.
Speaking during a media interview on a local media station on July 8, 2025, Karua questioned Ruto’s decision to construct a church within the State House compound, suggesting it symbolised a leader who does not intend to leave office.
“You can see everything he’s doing is a man who thinks he has bought a title deed to State House,” she said.
“Why would he even build a church there? Who tells him that the next person who comes there will be interested?” she posed.
Mabati church at State House
Drawing on her own experience visiting the compound during previous administrations, Karua dismissed claims by the presidency that a makeshift church had previously existed at State House, calling it misleading.
“This nonsense of lying to us that there was a Mabati church—I used to visit State House. Unless you’re saying he and Uhuru constructed it, and I doubt it, he’s the first person to ever construct a church in State House,” she stated.
Karua further accused Ruto of blurring the line between personal interest and public office.
“This is a person treating the seat of government—and in particular State House—as personal property. This is not a person preparing to go.”
Ruto’s leadership
The PLP leader painted a grim picture of the country’s immediate future, warning Kenyans to brace themselves for continued hardship under Ruto’s leadership.
She insisted that only unity among citizens would bring about meaningful change.
“This is not a person preparing to go. Kenyans, tighten your belts. We are all for a very rough ride,” she said.
Karua also weighed in on ongoing calls for dialogue, ruling out any prospects of national dialogue involving Ruto, citing state violence during recent protests.
“And I’ll repeat, Kenyans of goodwill must stand together to find solutions. This is not by dialoguing with a person who is shedding blood daily. That’s not a person to dialogue with,” she added.