If these allegations are true, and the photographic evidence strongly suggests so, then this is not just political deception. It is a moral failure that has dragged the Church into the mud of partisan theatrics. The Church, traditionally a sanctuary of truth, dignity, and moral guidance, has been reduced to a stage for rented applause and cosmetic legitimacy. Kenyans are not fools. They can tell the difference between genuine worship and political theatre.

What should have been a solemn church gathering in Gatundu has instead become a national embarrassment, not because of worship gone wrong, but because of politics intruding where reverence should have prevailed. Images and accounts circulating widely show individuals allegedly hired and dressed up to pose as women guild members, complete with the distinctive blue headdress of the Mothers’ Union, cheering the President during a church function. Some reports go further, alleging that even men were dressed up to pass as women, all in a desperate attempt to manufacture the illusion of popularity where it no longer exists.

If these allegations are true, and the photographic evidence strongly suggests so, then this is not just political deception. It is a moral failure that has dragged the Church into the mud of partisan theatrics. The Church, traditionally a sanctuary of truth, dignity, and moral guidance, has been reduced to a stage for rented applause and cosmetic legitimacy.

President Ruto’s unpopularity in Central Province is not a secret. It is a political reality shaped by broken promises, economic pain, punitive taxation, and a growing sense of betrayal among ordinary citizens. Popularity, however, cannot be rented by the hour. It cannot be stitched together with handouts and costumes. When leaders resort to bribing people to attend events and disguising them as respected church groups, it signals not strength, but panic.

The Mothers’ Union is not just a church club. It is a respected institution built over decades, representing discipline, faith, service, and moral authority. To cheaply imitate it using hired crowds is to mock the very women who have upheld churches through prayer, fundraising, caregiving, and quiet leadership. It is an insult to their identity and a desecration of their sacred symbols.

More disturbing is the apparent willingness of some church leaders or organizers to allow such deception to occur within church grounds. Churches are not neutral props to be hired for political public relations. When pulpits are used to launder political falsehoods, the Church loses credibility, and its moral voice is weakened. Congregants begin to ask uncomfortable questions: if lies are tolerated at the altar, what else is negotiable?

This incident exposes a troubling pattern that has become increasingly common. Political events disguised as religious gatherings. Handouts replacing honest engagement. Manufactured crowds replacing genuine support. The optics are always carefully staged, but the truth leaks out, often through a single photograph or video that shatters the illusion.

No amount of blue headscarves can hide public anger over the cost of living. No choreographed ululation can silence the cries of struggling families. And no rented cheer can substitute for legitimacy earned through leadership, accountability, and humility.

For the President and his handlers, this should be a moment of deep reflection. Leadership is not about forcing affection through inducements. It is about listening, correcting course, and accepting criticism. The more energy spent on pretending to be loved, the further one drifts from understanding why they are not.

For the Church, this is an urgent wake-up call. Religious institutions must draw clear lines and refuse to be used as political props. Silence or complicity in such acts only accelerates the erosion of trust between the Church and the faithful.

Kenyans are not fools. They can tell the difference between genuine worship and political theatre. They know when applause is organic and when it has been purchased. This Gatundu episode will not be remembered as a show of strength, but as a symbol of how far political desperation can go when truth is abandoned.

A Church embarrassed. A public insulted. And a nation reminded that deception, once exposed, only deepens the very unpopularity it seeks to hide.