Keep fake hugs and smiles out of National Prayer Breakfast

President William Ruto and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula at the 22nd National Prayer Breakfast at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi. May 28,2025. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Every year, the manicured lawns of Safari Park Hotel host a massive temporary architectural feat. A sprawling dome marquee is erected, creating a climate-controlled sanctuary insulated from the chaotic dust of Nairobi. The acoustics within this expansive tent are absolutely perfect.

The sharp jagged edges of the political rivalries in Kenya are softened by the sounds of a hymn being sung by all people under the high canvas top. Bitter political opponents practically rub elbows while they pass each other salt, holding hands, and bowing their heads in a very public display of spiritual unity. Their voices, which exchanged extremely rude, toxic rhetoric on the political campaign trail just a week earlier, now merge to create a sense of national unity.