Ruto Is Leading Cult Movement Disguised As Christianity- Raila On Shakahola

Azimio la Umoja Coalition leader Raila Odinga on Monday, May 1 accused President William Ruto of spearheading the cult movement disguised as Christianity in Kenya in the wake of the Shakahola massacre in Kilifi County.

In a four-page statement sent to newsrooms, the former Prime Minister boldly termed the Head of State as much of a suspect as all the cult pastors from Shakahola and beyond and that he owes the people of Kenya an explanation before he purports to be trying to solve the problem.

He alleged that the pastors were the same ones who set up a sanctuary at President Ruto's former Karen residence when he was the deputy president and proceeded to deliver prophesies and promise miracles about how Ruto would perform as president.

Raila went on to reveal that the 'so-called' pastors were among the people who supposedly sanctified State House when Ruto arrived there, pretending to be holier than every other Kenyan and proceeded to prophesy how great his regime would be.

Side-by-side image of Pastor Ezekiel Odero and Paul Mackenzie. /VIRALTEAKE

"These so-called pastors have organized mega prayer rallies, attended by so-called prayer warriors that include Mr Ruto, Mr Rigathi Gachagua and their spouses, supposedly to sanctify the land. They ended up defiling the land.

"These so-called pastors aided the introduction of mandatory fasting that started in 2015 at the DP's residence in Karen and which have been carried over to State House where everyone is compelled to fast every Wednesday regardless of their faith, effectively making State House essentially a Shakahola annexe," Raila sensationally alleged.

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader went on to reveal how in May 2022, Ruto's family had claimed to have prayed for impure borehole water at their Karen residence and turned it clean when a purification machine had failed.

He drew similarities between the alleged miracle and the outrageous ones made by cult pastors like performing fake miracles and extorting money from believers with calls such as 'Tuma Mbegu Ya 310' or fast until one meets Christ.

"The cult leaders are behind the decision by Ruto to establish a Faith Diplomacy office where he has gone ahead to provide a list of 100 members to be recruited into Public Service Commission as intercessors supposedly to pray for counties and the government. Nobody knows the identity, the qualifications of the so-called intercessors, how they were identified and where they fit in a government where religion and state are separate entities," he went on.

Raila urged Ruto and Gachagua to explain to Kenyans how much the so-called pastors contributed to their 2022 campaign, and how many times have the so-called pastors accessed the State House since the start of the Kenya Kwanza regime. 

Raila Faults Ruto's Judicial Commission of Inquiry Into Shakahola Massacre

On the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that President Ruto had announced that he would set up in the next one week to investigate what really led to the Shakahola massacre, Raila termed it as unconstitutional.

He proved this by referring to the 2010 Constitution and its entrenchment of Separation of Powers which indicates that the exercise of judicial power is only as provided by Article 1 and Chapter 10 which provide as follows:

"The people have delegated their sovereignty of judicial power to only the Judiciary and Independent tribunals established under the Constitution. Only Parliament can establish a subordinate court or an independent tribunal through an Act of Parliament.

"Only Parliament can determine the jurisdiction and functions of a court or independent tribunal. It is also now the law as determined by our courts that only the Judicial Service Commission can determine who would be employed to serve in such a tribunal," he added.

He asserted that Section 13 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act makes it clear that an inquiry shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding, which makes it an absolute preserve of the Judiciary under our Constitution.

"A president no longer has the power to make any decision. on the constitution of a court or an independent tribunal nor who sits in judgment in such court or independent tribunal. Yet again, Ruto is trying to undermine and overthrow the constitution," he claimed.

While affirming that Ruto has no powers to appoint a Judicial Commission of Inquiry, Raila claimed that the option has been Ruto's tool of choice whenever the government has something to hide, something he believes Ruto is doing now.

Nevertheless, Raila called for Parliament to swing into action, come up with a select committee, and get to the roots of the cultic activities in the country and the abuse of religion for political gain, as well as establish whether the deaths at Shakahola were acts of rogue pastors, human sacrifices or body organ trade and who the beneficiaries were.

He commended the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for a job well done on the Shakahola events despite acting on them late, and that they must continue with their work without interference.

"The current blanket restrictions placed on independent observers, including the media and civil society must be lifted. The State must give the media full access to the scene of the crime and various aspects of the investigation.

"Going forward, Ruto must commit to drawing a clear line between religion and state in this country. He has deliberately merged the two to enable his political survival and as a cover-up for his corruption," Raila claimed.