Obego: Homa Bay pastor who cracked up Ruto

Pastor Raphael Obego, the principal chaplain of Homa Bay County government and a pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church, has been catapulted to stardom, thanks to a jargon-filled prayer he made last week that’s been trending on social media.

It was a normal day like any other when Raphael Obego stood to pray in front of President William Ruto at Tom Mboya University in Homa Bay town. But little did he know that the prayer would make him a celebrity, not only in Homa Bay County but across the country.

That afternoon, Ruto had just arrived to preside over the Second Homa Bay County International Investment Conference. The conference, organized by Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, aimed to serve as a convergence point for investors to discover investment opportunities and invest in the county.

President Ruto, who was the chief guest, arrived and visited tents where various exhibitors showcased their products and opportunities for investment.

Upon meeting the exhibitors, Ruto went to the main tent where all guests had gathered to await his speeches. Ruto was welcomed by the master of ceremony before they sat in their seats for the program to begin officially.

The President’s protocol officers, led by former journalist Michael Gitonga, took over the program. The next program was a prayer session. The protocol team called Obego to pray, but he attempted to resist. Obego resisted since he had planned that the opening prayer was to be done by Bishop William Abuka. But the President’s protocol disagreed with Obego because their program indicated that he was the one to pray.

Obego finally complied with the presidential protocol team’s program and prayed. However, his prayer surprised everybody who listened to his words due to the unfamiliar vocabulary he used in the prayer. “I pray for a moment of jocundity, a moment of brouhaha, a moment that is going to result in a quantum leap. May you keep at bay every single jungle manoeuvre that may be orchestrated by the devil to thwart your dealings in regard to this particular conference, for this is my sincere circumambulation for I supplicate in the name of God the father, the son, and the holy spirit...” his prayer stated in part.

Obego’s use of jargon caused humour among both leaders and ordinary citizens in the conference. President Ruto, the Council of Governors chairperson Anne Waiguru had a difficult time controlling their joy during the prayer.

They laughed secretly as the prayers were going on.

Some people laughed at him openly over his use of the words. His prayer became a topic of discussion on many social media platforms. His use of words elicited a serious debate on the correct application of the vocabulary.

Kenyans on social media went miles ahead to search for the meaning of words to assess whether he was communicating or yapping.

It was discovered that Obego used the jargon correctly. On the closing day of the conference, the public demanded that Obego be given the opportunity to make the closing prayer. But he did not since they had scheduled it for another religious leader.

Since then, Obego has earned more recognition than before. People always demand that he prays at any public function he attends.

The Nairobian met him in Homa Bay town where he revealed that the prayer was guided by the Holy Spirit. To him, the words looked familiar. He is surprised by the numerous calls he gets from people.

“I believed I was using familiar words. But what surprised me was the number of people who were calling me over the prayer. They told me my video was going viral over the wonderful prayer,” Obego said.