Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris on Tuesday, April 22, issued a stern warning to Gen Zs over the ‘photoshopping’ of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as the next Pope after the passing of Pope Francis.
While speaking during a Parliament session, Passaris urged Gen Zs to respect Raila and the billions of Catholic faithful globally, who are in mourning following the passing of their spiritual leader on Monday.
“I have seen a lot of people on social media, the ones who have no respect, painting a picture of a man who lived with God and ruled two billion people as a spiritual leader by putting Raila’s image and Raila in Pope clothes. I think that is so disrespectful,” she noted.
“I want to tell our Gen Zs out there, you should have respect for Raila Odinga, the two billion Catholics, and the pope. He has not even been laid to rest, and you use his passing as a mockery. It is something you should be ashamed of,” Passaris charged.
Her tirade seemingly stemmed from Kenyans satirically portraying Raila as the next pope through AI-generated images; supposedly a subtle dig at Odinga’s numerous failed attempts to gain both local and continental top leadership gongs.
Raila previously contested five general elections as well as the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship seat to no avail. The failed attempts have at times put him at the center of jibes from many netizens.
Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday, April 21, after battling double pneumonia for over one month. According to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, the Pope passed away at 7:35am on Monday, April 21.
"Pope Francis passed on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta," Vatican News said in a tweet.
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, had been the head of the Catholic Church since 2013.
The Pope had long struggled with respiratory issues due to a lung infection he suffered as a teenager, which led to part of one lung being removed. In recent years, he had experienced recurring respiratory infections, including bronchitis, which required hospitalisation in 2023.
Consequently, the Vatican on Monday, April 21, revealed that Pope Francis succumbed after a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.
Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, issued the official certification, and the Holy See Press Office released the report on the evening of Monday.
Pope Francis will be buried on Saturday, April 26, from 11:00am at the Basilica of St Mary Major as per his wishes.
In the pope’s final spiritual testament that contained his wishes, Pope Francis requested that his tomb should be in the ground, simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.
