President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday, June 19 gave a personal donation of Sh10 million during celebrations to mark 100 years of the Akorino church.
President Kenyatta joined the celebrations held at the Moi International Sports Complex, Kasarani.
He also handed the leaders of the congregation a title deed symbolic of a parcel of land worth Sh100 million in Naivasha.
The head of state announced that he had appointed Samuel Thiong’o, a member of the church, as the Chairperson of the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority.
Others were the Secretary General of the Akorino church Ibrahim Jeremiah Macharia who was appointed as a Board Member of the Postal Corporation of Kenya, David Kiarie Mburu as the Chairman of the chairperson of the Kenya Tea Development Authority and Eunice Njeri Njau as Council member of the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC).
He commended the Akorino church for being at the forefront in spreading the gospel, noting that since its inception in 1922, the church has grown its membership to 1.5 million.
Uhuru has asked school administrators to stop discriminating against Akorino students on the basis of their religious beliefs, saying the Constitution of Kenya 2010 guarantees freedom of worship.
“If you look at all religions, they observe certain beliefs, norms and traditions. For instance, our Muslim brothers and sisters have particular attire, which reflects their beliefs. The same applies to the Sikhs.
“I want to insist to the school principals that have been discriminating against our Akorino brothers and sisters because of wearing their turbans at school that they should stop that habit. It is not justified. There is no law that says that a person doesn’t have the right of identifying themselves in school, at the hospital and in the office according to their religion.
President Kenyatta said students should be allowed to express their religious beliefs so as to build their confidence in God.