KENYA: Kenyan Nun Urges Franciscan Families to Be Prophetic, Bold and Courageous in Fighting Corruption

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA

Against the backdrop of 2021 Lenten campaign theme by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) on “Rebuilding our nation through inclusive and accountable governance,” a Kenya nun has urged members of the Franciscan Family Association (FFA) to take personal responsibility in the fight against corruption in the country.

Reflecting on one of the thematic areas suggested by the Church leaders in the 2021 Lenten campaign booklet on “Holiness in breaking the chain of corruption,” Sr. Consolata Aloo has reiterated the Prelates’ call, challenging the Franciscans to fight corruption.

Speaking to dozens of Religious men and women and some lay Franciscans who attended the online session on Saturday, March 6, Sr. Consolata stated, “We are called to a prophetic mission of condemning all forms of corruption which calls for holiness in standing for the truth,” adding, “Corruption exists, it is a vice that has “imprisoned our hearts, families and entire society” and it must be fought jointly.”

A member of the congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna (FSSA), Sr. Consolata divulged that corruption has clearly manifested in various sectors in the country including among others “poor infrastructure, unfair trade practices, lack of jobs by those who resist giving bribes and compromised quality of roads causing accidents and deaths of innocent people.”

Sr. Consolata has challenged the Franciscans to look at their contribution to corruption from individual level before pointing fingures to the government knowing that “For us to fight corruption in the Church, we must begin by fighting corruption from our institutions and from the individual level.”

Sr. Consolata who is the Executive Secretary to the Catholic Scholarship Program for Kenya (CSPK) highlighted that corruption has led to a “society of who knows who,” hence “individuals are denied opportunities they deserve and these are offered to those who are “known” leading to promotion of tribalism, nepotism and ethnicity.

“Backroom deals have hindered public service delivery where people are denied access to basic services in preference to those that can pay for them,” she said adding, “People no longer trust institutions that are responsible in offering services, giving a general feel that without bribing officials, access to services is almost impossible.”

Echoing the bishops’ message on how each person should act to fight corruption, the Kenyan nun highlighted that “there is need to take risk by being bold and courageous in doing what is right,” and at the same time, “each person must be prepared for the consequences of fighting corruption.”