Ruto explains why he missed morning church service

President William Ruto has explained why he missed the morning service at JCC Mombasa.

Speaking at 6 pm at the church, Ruto stated that he was held up with a tourism agenda, which caused him to miss the service.

He said that on Saturday night, he sent a message to Bishop Wilfred Lai expressing his desire to attend the service, despite having responsibilities related to the arrival of the MS Norwegian Dawn ship.

"The Bishop texted me back at around 11 am, and by that time, I had already attended to the tourism matter, which made me late. But I told myself that I had to make it to church at JCC," he said.

Ruto explained that he arrived at 11 am, only to be told that the service had already ended.

However, the Bishop informed him that there was a family service at 3:30 pm, and since he had planned to attend JCC, he promised to return.

"I want to thank God that I came to this service because it has been a while since I heard from this spiritual man, talking about our country and the administration," he said

"I am glad, and I have been truly blessed to sit here and listen. God is healing our nation and economy."

The MS Norwegian Dawn cruise ship had arrived in Mombasa with over 2,000 tourists, who were received by Ruto, Mombasa Governor Abdulswammad Nassir, and Tourism CS Rebecca Miano

The MS Norwegian Dawn is the first cruise vessel of the year to dock in Mombasa.

The 294-meter-long vessel brought passengers from 54 nationalities to the Kenyan coast, offering them opportunities to explore the region’s pristine white sandy beaches and national parks.

"I am proud to welcome visitors as we establish Kenya as a destination for tourism. I am told that 800 of our guests have already left for Amboseli and the city tour, which speaks volumes about what tourism is doing for our country," Ruto said.