A video showing a priest preaching about thieves in the presence of President William Ruto has taken social media by storm, sparking heated discussions among Kenyans.
Initially appearing as a shocking moment where a priest calls out the President in a sermon, the footage has gone viral, drawing attention Kenyans online.
The footage seen by The Kenya Times has one angle showing the catholic priest preaching about thieves while another angle shows President Ruto listening keenly to a sermon while at State House.
“If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work and then give generously to others in need, this verse is for the thieves. Especially those who are with us in this mass and the thieves following us live, have you heard us you thieves?” the priest says.
As he delivers the sermon, the video shows President Ruto listening keenly to the word of the day.
Was Ruto attending a sermon on thieves delivered by a Priest?
The Kenya Times conducted a fact check to ascertain the video’s authenticity. Upon reverse searching, the results confirmed that the footage had been manipulated.
The priest’s sermon, which discusses issues of corruption and dishonesty, was delivered at a different venue, while President Ruto was attending a separate function at State House altogether.
Further, the search traced the original footage to a live sermon delivered by Father Charles Kinyua on his YouTube Channel.
Father Kinyua has served as a priest in the Archdiocese of Nyeri and was in 2020 seconded to Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops in Nairobi at the commission of Social Communication.
He has also served as Director and producer at Radio Waumini FM.
Kinyua’s sermon titled 25 Days Novena for Finances, Wealth and Prosperity was livestreamed on October 10, 2024.
Additionally, he preaches about thieves in the sermon but in a completely different location to where President Ruto was in the viral video.
The viral video is among recent misinformation revolving around President Ruto which has been making rounds on social media.
On October 11, President Ruto’s daughter, Charlene Ruto, warned social media users against spreading fake information about her appointment for a government job.
Charlene Ruto Flags Fake Appointment
Charlene said that she has never wanted any government appointment or position, adding that she has been charting her path.
This came after an excerpt of a gazette notice made rounds on social media claiming that Charlene has been appointed to be the board chairperson of the National Mining Corporation.
The notice claimed that Charlene was appointed to that position to serve for three years, effective October 4, 2024.
However, in a statement on X, Charlene asked Kenyans to treat the information as fake news, cautioning those who are keen on spreading it.
Also Read: Has Charlene Ruto Been Appointed as a State Corporation Board Chairperson?
“Guys…c’mon…seriously?? Tuwache fake news! And looks like whoever is pushing this doesn’t know President William Ruto. He believes in giving equal, fair and transparent leadership opportunities to as many Kenyans as possible, so trust me, this he would not do. Na mining tena? Not even youth? Or agriculture? Just so that you know it is fake!” said Charlene.
“I didn’t wait for anyone to give me an appointment or position, I am creating my own path, plus my name is Chelagat, not Chelangat Don’t support this propaganda!”
Fact check
Earlier before Charlene’s clarification, The Kenya Times had conducted a fact-check to confirm the authenticity of the reports with a check in the gazette notice dated October 3 published on the Kenya Law website.
We however confirmed the appointment and the viral notice doing rounds on social media as not factual.
The actual gazette notice announces the appointment of Joseph Kipchumba Lagat for the same position.
Also, the font type used to type Charlene’s name in the viral notice is different from the one used to type names of people appointed by the government printer.
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