Pastor Ezekiel Odero of Newlife Prayer Centre and Church warned President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga before the August 9, 2022, Presidential Election.
In a sermon which aired on August 3, 2022, Pastor Ezekiel cautioned that the Kenyans would rebel if the ruling administration failed to honour their immediate demands.
Pastor Ezekiel elaborately stated the electorate would shun praising winners but demand immediate solutions. At that time, Ruto and Raila were the front runners in the presidential election. Ruto emerged victorious after the Supreme Court upheld his victory.
The popular televangelist reprimanded them, arguing that they failed to comprehend what the citizens wanted to be addressed immediately after the elections, including lowering the cost of living and fixing the economy.
"Someone comes, whether it is Azimio or UDA, and Kenyans vote you in; remember, they are looking for something; they are not looking for someone. You give them good words, and they vote you in," Ezekiel stated.
"Once they vote you in and you don't do what they want they will come for you. Whoever is voted to power must realise this, that they will vote peacefully, but after voting and you don't know what they want, they will come for you, the leader," he warned.
Giving context to his warning, Pastor Ezekiel indicated that some residents from the Mt Kenya region had revolted against former President Uhuru Kenyatta despite being its backyard.
In the sermon, the televangelist advised the election winner between Raila and Ruto to learn from Uhuru Kenyatta and know how they would honour their campaign pledges to avoid facing opposition.
"I want to give you an example when you go to Central, now they say they don't understand their president (Uhuru). They tell him, no, we don't understand you. If people who come from the region where the president (Uhuru) comes from don't understand the sitting president, will they understand you? Ezekiel in a sermon shared on August 3, 2022.
Ruto Facing Opposition
Since Pastor Ezekiel warned Ruto, the Kenya Kwanza faced different challenges in running the country's affairs. Ruto's first headache was dealing with anti-government protests staged by Raila.
After a series of demonstrations, Ruto invited Raila for bipartisan talks to address some of their issues, including lowering the cost of living, opening the election servers and reconstituting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Ruto also faced a new wave of opposition in passing the Finance Bill. Some sections of the Bill were opposed by the private sector players arguing that it imposed extra taxes on the citizens.
