Lawsuit after Kenyan bishops’ conference cancels lease for Muslim-run restaurant
July 18, 2014
A Somali Muslim who operates a restaurant has filed suit against the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops after it canceled its lease agreement with him.
The bishops’ conference had signed a six-year lease agreement with Baakai Maalim to operate a restaurant at the conference’s headquarters. Maalim alleges he is the victim of anti-Muslim discrimination.
“This is a brazen violation of the constitution by the Catholic bishops, who should be at the forefront of preaching religious tolerance,” contended Maalim, according to a Kenyan newspaper, The Standard.
“We stopped the lease for security reasons,” said Bishop Martin Kivuva Musonde of Machakos, according to a Religion News Service report. The bishops’ lawyer said that the lease was signed without the bishops’ consent.
“The restaurant would have increased human traffic within the building, and that can be a danger even to other businesses here,” Bishop Musonde added.
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Further information:
- Trader sues bishops in tenancy row (The Standard)
- Kenya’s Catholic bishops sued after canceling lease for Muslim-run restaurant (RNS)
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