President Uhuru Kenyatta has instructed the Ministries of Education and Land to restore church-owned land to respective churches within a week.
Speaking during a requiem mass for the late Archbishop Emeritus John Njenga at the University of Nairobi grounds on Tuesday, the president directed the Education Ministry to restore sponsorship of schools by religious institutions.
The Head of State said he has given relevant Government officials a week’s time to finalise the process of restoring ownership of the schools to the Churches.
“There’re a lot of schools sponsored and built by the church. The Ministry of Education, and I’m saying it for the last time today, I want you to ensure that you restore that sponsorship and the land and schools are restored back to their rightful owner,” said president Uhuru.
The directive was in acknowledgement of the role played by Archbishop Emeritus Njenga in the establishment of education institutions through the support of the church.
The idea of church sponsorship of education institutions dates back to the pre-independence era when the colonial government allowed Christian missionaries to build and finance schools.
Most of the lands under church-sponsored schools has however remained without titles for some time putting them at the risk of being grabbed.
President Uhuru’s directive will see to it that the safety of church-sponsored schools is well taken care of.