President Ruto to lead the 21st Prayer Breakfast end of May
President William Ruto will lead the nation in marking the 21st National Prayer Breakfast at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi.
The National Prayer Breakfast will take place on the 30th of May, 2024, under the theme ‘Hope’, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula has confirmed.
The prayer breakfast is interdenominational and emphasizes the importance of national unity and leaders acknowledging their responsibilities and privileges before God.
It serves as a reminder that regardless of political or religious differences, the well-being and progress of the nation should be a shared endeavor.
The Kenya National Prayer Breakfast has a rich history with its beginnings dating back the Second World War II in the United States. Nearly 78 years ago, a small group of Members of the U.S. Congress gathered for prayer and fellowship to seek divine wisdom during a time of global turmoil.
This tradition continued and eventually led to the first National Prayer Breakfast in 1953 in Washington, D.C.
The idea of a National Prayer breakfast spread to other continents, including Africa.
In Kenya, the first prayer breakfast took place in 1986 when a small group of individuals met in the office of former Cabinet Member Mr. Isaac Omollo Okero.
Over time, this gathering evolved into several groups, including the Boulevard Group, which attracted prominent figures like Hon. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Rt. Raila Odinga, and Hon. Moses Keino.
In 2002, after the election of a new President and Parliament, the Bunge Fellowship and other small breakfast groups joined forces to organize Kenya’s inaugural National Prayer Breakfast.
Former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka became the first chairperson of the event, as the then foreign minister, which aimed to bring leaders together under the banner of faith and reconciliation.
Since its inception, the Kenya National Prayer Breakfast has grown in prominence, becoming a platform for fostering unity and reconciliation among leaders from various political and religious backgrounds.
Over the years, the Kenya National Prayer Breakfast has welcomed esteemed speakers from various countries, including Former President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and the Late Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai.
The event holds great significance in Kenya’s calendar as it promotes national unity, reconciliation, and spiritual reflection among the country leaders.