NAIROBI — Economist David Ndii who chairs President William Ruto’s Council of Economic Advisers has clarified that the chapel within State House is intended for staff use, not a symbol of President William Ruto’s personal religious devotion dismissing critics. His remarks come as public scrutiny grows over the construction of a new church at the President’s official residence.
Ndii, who chairs the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, stated on Saturday that the chapel has long served more than 1,000 government employees and their families who reside within the State House compound. He emphasized that the President’s religious beliefs are not tied to the chapel’s existence.
“The church serves the 1,000+ government staff and their families who live in State House,” Ndii wrote on X. “The religion of the President is irrelevant. The staff will remain predominantly Christian, whatever the religion of future presidents.”
His remarks followed President Ruto’s confirmation earlier this week that he is funding a new church on the premises using personal funds. The President said he wanted to replace a temporary iron-sheet structure with a permanent sanctuary and added that the initiative was not financed by the government.
“There was already a mabati church at State House,” Ruto stated. “I decided to build a permanent one. I am doing it with my own money.”
The new sanctuary, expected to hold 8,000 people, has drawn questions from civil society groups and legal experts. Critics have asked whether the project aligns with Article 8 of Kenya’s Constitution, which bars the state from adopting any religion.
Debate intensified after Head of Presidential Special Projects Dennis Itumbi criticized Anglican Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit for questioning the church’s location and role. The Archbishop raised concern that placing a church within the President’s official residence risked eroding the line between state and church.
Itumbi responded with a historical argument. In a detailed post, he said the Anglican Church has always been close both physically and spiritually to Kenya’s highest office. He pointed to Archbishopbourne, a property next to State House that was built by British colonial authorities to house the Archbishop and serve as a spiritual base for the Governor, later the President.
“The property was built with this spiritual mandate in mind,” Itumbi wrote. “Within its architecture stands a fully furnished 100-seater chapel designed to host prayers and provide counsel to the Head of State.”
He said Archbishop Sapit should not question the church’s role since tradition, proximity, and historical precedent already placed him in that position.
“It’s surprising that the Anglican Archbishop would publicly pose the question of who should serve as the State House Bishop,” he added. “By tradition, geography, and divine proximity, you already are.”
Itumbi noted that no Anglican has held the presidency since independence, which, he suggested, may have made the church hesitant to take up the national spiritual role.
He also cited a past instance during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure, where a proposal to appoint a Catholic chaplain at State House was eventually stalled by civil service resistance despite presidential support.
As questions about the State House chapel grow louder, Ndii’s comments mark an attempt to distance the project from political or religious agendas. So far, President Ruto has maintained that the church construction is private and voluntary, intended to replace an old structure and offer space for prayer.
