MP Aden Duale Under Fire for Likening Catholic Church to a Cult

Garissa Township MP Aden Duale is under fire for likening the Catholic Church to a cult.

Duale made the remarks when he appeared on Citizen TV’s JKL Show where he compared the structure of the ODM party to that of the Catholic Church.

“ODM is a cult… nobody can speak. It is like the Catholic Church with the Pope at the head then the structures,” Duale said.

Duale has received heavy criticism from Catholics and other Kenyans, who termed his sentiments as disparaging.  

ODM secretary-general Edwin Sifuna demanded an apology from the former leader of the majority in the National Assembly, saying he insulted the constitutional rights of Catholics and ODM party members.

“As an @TheODMparty life member and fully baptized and confirmed member of the Catholic Church, I take great exception to the comparison by Duale of these institutions with cults. Duale must apologize and forthwith respect each one’s freedom of association and worship,” Sifuna tweeted.

Lawyer Donald Kipkorir said: “Roman Catholic Church is the oldest monotheistic religion bar Judaism. Islam and Protestantism are its offshoots. That my friend Aden Duale syncs ODM, a temporal political body, and my Church, an ecclesiastical body is heretical to the largest body of believers in Kenya and the world.”

Former Mukurwe-ini MP Kabando wa Kabando wrote: “Just apologize without justifying the slip. Please avoid matters of FAITH in politics it’s fluid, divisive, sectarian.”

Through Twitter, Duale clarified that he was referring to ODM as a cult and not the Catholic church.

“My remark was in reference to the ODM party and NOT the Catholic Church as a cult. I have tremendous respect for the Catholic Church and its elaborate structures. Am a man of faith who respects all the teachings of other religions,” he said.