William Ruto: How Kenya's evangelical president has fallen out with churches

The churches central to his election in 2022 are now his fiercest critics.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersHow Kenya's evangelical president has fallen out with churchesWilliam Ruto/XWilliam Ruto's Christian faith has been a cornerstone of his personal life and his political journeyWilliam Ruto, who became Kenya’s president two years ago riding on the crest of the Christian vote, has been visibly shaken to find that over the last few months church leaders of all creeds are losing faith in him - seeing him less as a saviour and more as the greedy biblical tax collector.

In the run-up to his victory, some of his most ardent evangelical supporters had dubbed him "David", after the shepherd boy in the Bible who rose to become king.

The opposition had baptised him "deputy Jesus", accusing him of using Christianity to gain political capital as he attended church services from Catholic masses to the gatherings of obscure sects.

He would wear the appropriate religious attire for each setting, sometimes knelt in supplication and on occasion was moved to tears by sermons.

Afterwards, he credited God for his electoral success, and continued this practice of criss-crossing the country to attend a different church each Sunday.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx241gygwqpo

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