NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) – Pope Francis lashed out at wealthy minorities who hoard resources at the expense of the poor as he visited a crowded Kenyan slum on Friday, wrapping up the first leg of a three-nation tour.

The 78-year-old pontiff was given a rapturous welcome as he arrived in the Kenyan capital’s Kangemi slum, which is home to more than 100,000 people who live in shacks without sewerage.

“These are wounds inflicted by minorities who cling to power and wealth, who selfishly squander while a growing majority is forced to flee to abandoned, filthy and run-down peripheries,” he told crowds in the slum on the outskirts of Nairobi.

Several hours later, he left for Uganda, where he will spend two days before travelling to Central African Republic, a country wracked by sectarian conflict.

On the eve of his arrival, Ugandan MPs passed a controversial bill that would give authorities sweeping powers to regulate civil society, which rights groups say will “strangle” criticism of the government.

The legislation would grant Uganda’s internal affairs ministry the power to supervise, approve, inspect and dissolve an organisation in a move which could even see rights activists jailed for documenting abuses.

Human Rights Watch has said the implications were “terrifying”. 

Veteran Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni, who is widely expected to be reelected next year for his third decade in power, has said he is “honoured to host Pope Francis,” saying the pontiff’s “compassion for the poor and his frankness of spirit is an encouragement for all of us.”

Ugandans said they were looking forward to seeing the pope.

“If he prays for us, change might come,” said Ugandan Simon Okitoi, a 48-year-old maintenance man who is planning to hear Francis speak in Kampala on Saturday, with more than 100,000 expected to attend. 

“I like him, the way he presents himself… he’s down to earth,” said Etima Karim, 35, a Muslim motorbike taxi driver.

Many Ugandans appear as excited as in neighbouring Kenya, where the enthusiasm never flagged over his three-day visit which included a vast open air mass where crowds sang and danced despite sometimes torrential rains.

Wild singing and ululating erupted as Francis arrived in Nairobi’s Kangemi slum on Friday morning, his popemobile weaving through a sea of tin-roofed homes in one of the most anticipated parts of his three-day visit to Kenya. 

“I am here because I want you to know that I am not indifferent to your joys and hopes, your troubles and your sorrows,” Francis told the worshippers, denouncing the “dreadful injustice of urban exclusion”.

People arrived long before dawn in the hope of catching a glimpse of the pope, who has made humility and help for the impoverished a hallmark of his tenure.

He went on to Kasarani national stadium, where thousands of smiling youngsters whooped, cheered and danced in a huge display of celebration. 

Even politicians joined in, with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta leading a group of black-and-magenta clad priests in an impromptu “conga” line as grinning spectators looked on from the stands. 

The pope delivered another hard-hitting address focusing on corruption and the radicalisation of young people. 

“Corruption is something which eats (you) inside. It is like sugar. Sweet,” he said of an issue which is of widespread concern in this east African country that has come in for sharp international criticism over runaway graft. 

“After, we finish up in a bad way… So much sugar that we either end up being diabetic, or our country ends up diabetic.”

He also spoke of the dangers of young people being drawn into radical extremism, saying “education and work” was key to stopping it. 

“They leave their friends, their tribes, their countries. They leave their lives behind in order to kill,” he told the crowd. “It is a social danger, which is beyond us… because it depends on an unjust international system that which is not centred on the person but on the god of money.”

Francis also delivered a stark environmental message, warning it would be “catastrophic” if agreement is not reached at a key UN climate summit which opens in Paris on Monday. 

Security has been ratcheted up for the visit over fears Islamist rebels from Al-Qaeda’s East Africa branch, the Shebab, could use the opportunity to stage attacks.

Security in Uganda is heavy, but chief of defence forces Katumba Wamala has said measures are in place and expressed confidence “all will go as planned.”

Francis has shrugged off safety fears, joking that he was “more worried about the mosquitoes”.