By BOB AMALEMBA
June 27, 2026| Trans Nzoia Governor and Tawe Movement leader George Natembeya has challenged Kenya’s church to practise the repentance it so often preaches by publicly apologising to Kenyans for campaigning for President William Ruto in the run-up to the 2022 General Election.
Speaking during a funeral in Trans Nzoia County, Natembeya accused sections of the clergy of abusing the immense trust they enjoy among worshippers by portraying Ruto as God’s chosen leader, only for the country to end up, in his words, under a “disastrous presidency.”
“The church’s word was treated as gospel truth. People believed you when you said William Ruto was a leader sent from above. Today, everyone has seen what his presidency has become. Since you misled Kenyans then, you should now lead the country in repentance and tell them not to re-elect him,” Natembeya said.
During the 2022 campaigns, several influential evangelical and Pentecostal church leaders openly backed Ruto’s presidential bid. Among the most visible were Evangelical Alliance of Kenya chairman Bishop Mark Kariuki, who famously presented Ruto with a Bible during the campaign, former CITAM presiding bishop David Oginde, Rev. Teresa Wairimu of Faith Evangelistic Ministry and Bishop Margaret Wanjiru of Jesus Is Alive Ministries.
At the time, Ruto’s campaign also cast then opposition leader Raila Odinga as a “mganga” (witchdoctor), portraying him as lacking godly values while urging Kenyans to elect “God-fearing leaders.”
However, the relationship between President Ruto and many church leaders has significantly cooled since the 2024 Gen Z protests. The nationwide demonstrations, driven largely by young people frustrated by high taxation, corruption and the Finance Bill, saw some churches criticised for accepting large donations from the President while public services remained underfunded. In several instances, youth stormed church services attended by Ruto and his allies, demanding accountability over the source of the donations.
Today, the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) and the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) have emerged among the government’s strongest critics, repeatedly condemning corruption, enforced disappearances, police brutality during protests and what they describe as persistent dishonesty by the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Natembeya claimed President Ruto’s popularity had sharply declined, even within his Kalenjin political backyard.
“He has become so unpopular that even his own people ask us in the opposition to speak against him on their behalf,” he claimed.
“He may command the instruments of state, but he has lost the people’s support. The colonialists had guns, yet Kenyans chased them away with far less. The same will happen politically to Ruto.”
The governor, whose profile has risen steadily in Western Kenya because of his outspoken opposition to the Kenya Kwanza administration, also hinted at plans to launch a new national political party that would bring together leaders from across the country.
He criticised attempts to force Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna out of ODM over his criticism of Ruto’s broad-based arrangement with the opposition, saying leaders who share Sifuna’s views would soon have a new political home.
“Those being pushed out for speaking their minds will not be homeless for long. We are building a vehicle that will accommodate everyone who believes in change,” he said.
Natembeya also raised concerns over allegations that Ugandan nationals were being irregularly registered as Kenyan voters ahead of the 2027 General Election, warning that any attempt to manipulate the voters’ register would undermine the country’s democracy. He urged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process.