Kenya's First Lady, Rachel Ruto, on Saturday, set the record straight as she disclosed the source of funds used to sponsor American televangelist Benny Hinn’s crusade.
While addressing a congregation at the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi, President William Ruto's wife stated that the crusade was entirely organised and funded by churches in Kenya.
She thus watered down reports claiming that the government funded the multi-million conference from taxpayer's money.
“The church has fully funded all that was needed to make the crusade a success,” Rachel Ruto remarked.
Rachel Ruto lauded the churches' efforts in making the planned crusade a reality and also expressed gratitude to Benny Hinn for accepting the church's request to come to Kenya.
According to the First Lady, she met the televangelist in Florida, the United States, where she took up the opportunity and convinced him to come to Kenya.
"I thank Benny Hinn for accepting our request to come to Kenya. I can tell you it is a big honour. When I met him in Florida he told me he had stopped going out of America," the First Lady narrated.
"It has been 23 years since Benny Hinn has been to this nation and I know he has many invitations from all over the world. We are very grateful that he has stepped into the soil of Kenya and because of that, he has also stepped into Africa," she added.
On February 13, the steering committee responsible for organising the crusade dismissed allegations made by a section of the public that Benny Hinn's conference was stated-funded.
“The event has been organised, funded and coordinated by the churches of Kenya, which include both mainstream and evangelical churches in Kenya," Archbishop Harrison Ng'ang'a, the committee lead, stated.
“I do not believe that the government funds religious activities. We understand the importance of maintaining public confidence and we want to reassure Kenyans that their taxes will not be used for this event," he added.
