Nairobi — A bishop has opened the fight against theft of church offerings by priests.

Anglican Church of Kenya Bishop Horace Etemesi stunned a Sunday church service, attended by Vice-President Moody Awori and other government dignitaries, when he disclosed that some clerics in his Butere Diocese were pilfering offerings.

Terming it strange and deplorable, the Bishop lamented that the behaviour was fast taking root in the Anglican Church.

And in a graphic illustration of how the theft was carried out, Etemesi explained that the offending church leaders first waited until all collections had been made. They then discreetly pilfered banknotes offered by the flock, leaving behind the coins.

Addressing a service at the Mumias ACK Church grounds, Etemesi said he had personally made sure that a padre - who stole Sh1,500 during a Sunday service - had been arrested and punished.

He said the padre was spotted picking the cash by a young girl, who informed the Bishop, and after investigations, the man was found guilty.

Etemesi said the theft was affecting church development projects, for which the offering was meant. Part of the money was for the upkeep of Bishops, who he said were now "starving" because of this behaviour.

He said corruption had permeated all sectors of life, and the church was not an exception as "the shepherds, together with their flock, were engaged in the vice".

Etemesi therefore called for the expansion of the government fight against corruption, to include other spheres of life.

And he singled out the church, saying the fight should focus on stamping out the corrupt who were soiling the church's "good name".

He went further and proposed that church officials be required to declare their wealth, saying they were "also serving the public in their various capacities that involved wealth".

"We are calling upon the Government to move to the church and find out how much we have or do not have, since there are corrupt people among us," he said.