President William Ruto has acknowledged the big role his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta played in restoring the unity in AIPCA church.
Speaking in Kasarani during the celebration of the church's 100 years, Ruto said Uhuru was among the people who worked hard to ensure the wrangles that had threatened to divide the church were handled.
The President revealed that he had been approached by a section of leaders from the church requesting a helping hand in ending the stalemate.
He, however, sought the support of his former boss, then-President Uhuru, after he realised that the issues at hand could not be handled by him alone.
"When they (church delegation) came to me, I told them uniting the church is above my capability and told them I would look for the leaders of this country. I looked for President Uhuru Kenyatta and I would like to thank him because he played a very big role in uniting this church," Ruto added.
The Head of State further acknowledged that politicians had contributed to the wrangles that had hit the church.
This, he said, was because elected leaders were affiliated with different factions within the church.
Ruto said various leaders had been affiliated with either Samson Muthuri, Julius Njoroge or Fredrick Wang'ombe since the three were all their friends.
"We even contributed to the confusion that was in the church at that time because whenever we would be called by Njoroge we would go because he was our friend, if we were called by Wang'ombe we arrived very early because he was our friend, when we are called by Muthuri the same thing," the President said.
For years, the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa was riddled with top leadership wrangles.
AIPCA is one of the oldest churches in Kenya formed by African Christians who could not fit in the colonial Catholic Church.
It mainly consisted of reformed freedom fighters.
After Independence, cracks emerged following leadership wrangles. This led to countrywide splits.
In 2017, AIPCA church sunk to new levels of leadership wrangles that led to numerous fights.
However, the current Deputy President Rigathi Gachgua in November last year brokered a deal between the warring factions, ending the more the more than 17 years of turmoil in the church.
In a meeting that was held with the top leadership of the various factions of the church the leaders committed to a peaceful election and to accept and respect the outcome.
