Front row: Governor Johnson Sakaja, Winner Ministry General Overseer Edward Mwai, President William Ruto and Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie in Roysambu, Nairobi County, on March 2, 20125.
Jesus Winner Ministry founder Edward Mwai has dumped a phone number he has had for more than 15 years after endless calls, mostly from angry youth demanding answers on a Sh20 million donation pledge by President William Ruto, jammed the handset.
Neither the harrowing confessions that men of the cloth hear from sinners looking to turn over a new leaf, nor the delicate situations that pastors at times defuse could have prepared Mr Mwai and his wife, Agnes, for the wrath of the young people not happy with President Ruto’s Sh20 million pledge and a promise to rally friends to raise another Sh100 million for the church.
“I have received more than 5,000 abusive messages and cannot make calls. The same is happening to my wife. We have had to buy new lines. For the record, President Ruto never left any money behind. I consider what he promised like any other pledge when you are left chasing after it to be fulfilled,” the pastor told the Daily Nation.
Reverend Edward Mwai of Jesus Winner Ministries preaches at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, in 2015.
“The service was live and I challenge you to review the footage and show me where my team or board member is receiving the donation. I don’t usually receive tithe or offering directly, and neither do I count. There are people who do that. They have told me they have received nothing from the President but we will make a follow-up on the promises.”
A State House spokesperson did not respond to the Daily Nation’s queries on whether Dr Ruto gave Pastor Mwai’s church Sh20 million.
The young people, who have bombarded Mr Mwai with calls and text messages, believe he received the money, and are unhappy as they expected him to reject it.
Endless calls
The abusive messages and endless calls have thrown Mr Mwai into panic and paranoia.
The man who is always on TV screens is now hesitant to have his photo taken during interviews.
Mr Mwai cites privacy reasons, but points out that he is worried about the story to be written after the interview. But he “resigns to fate, and leaves everything to God”.
“May the good deeds from the Lord follow you if you write a balanced story. If you decide to do otherwise, I leave it to God,” he told the Daily Nation team with a grin, as his aide offered tea.
During a service at Mr Mwai’s church in Roysambu on Sunday, President Ruto promised to donate Sh20 million to Jesus Winner Ministry, and to rally friends to contribute another Sh100 million all towards building a chapel.
“In the construction of our church, I will give out Sh20 million first,” President Ruto said as the congregation burst into cheers.
“In that fundraising, I want to be given a polling centre so that I will go and make arrangements with my friends, and we will raise Sh100 million.”
Mr Mwai says in all his years in the Ministry, this week has been his lowest moment.
Agitated Kenyans shared his personal mobile number and that of his wife on social media and jammed their phones with text messages and thousands of calls.
Mr Mwai and President Ruto are not strangers to each other.
On December 31, 2013, he hosted overnight prayers for then-President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President Ruto.
At the time, the pair was facing crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, for their alleged role in the 2007/8 post-election mayhem.
Apart from the prayers, Mr Mwai “prophesied” that the ICC cases would collapse. ICC prosecutors withdrew the cases in 2016.
For Mr Kenyatta, the prosecutors said the Kenyan government refused to hand over evidence that would have been critical in proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
In Dr Ruto’s case, they said there was insufficient evidence, even as one judge pointed out witness interference and “intolerable political meddling”.
Dr Ruto attended a service at the Jesus Winner Ministry in May 2015.
A week earlier, the High Court had ordered the National Council of NGOs to register a lobby for the gay community in Kenya. Dr Ruto criticised the decision during the service.
“There is no room for homosexuality in our society. Be assured of that. When we say this, we are not doing so to get votes, but to denounce what we feel is not right,” Dr Ruto said.
President Ruto was at the Roysambu chapel last Sunday and showed that he would continue defying his own July 2024 order banning public officers from participating in fundraisers.
Prime land
The President said he has never found a verse in the Bible that blocks people from “giving to God”.
Mr Mwai has hosted Mr Kenyatta and impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who, at one time gave him Sh5 million during a fundraiser.
He met former President Mwai Kibaki several times. The interview with the Daily Nation sprang up memories of his talks with Kenya’s third president – his namesake.
That Mr Mwai is wealthy is not in doubt. Jesus Winner Ministry sits on slightly over an acre of prime land. Metres away is Jewel Complex, a commercial building owned by the church’s trading arm by the same name. The two properties could fetch at least Sh1 billion.
President William Ruto, Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie (right), General Overseer Jesus Winner Ministry, Edward Mwai (second left) and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja during a church service at Jesus Winner Ministry in Roysambu, Nairobi County, on March 2, 2025.
Through the church, Mr Mwai has investments in media – Mwangaza FM. He owns Jewel College, Jewel Driving School and has investment in real estate and agribusiness.
Mr Mwai is cautious when asked about his net worth and says he doesn’t like publicity that proclaims what he owns.
“Just like Kikuyus don’t like counting their children, I don’t like saying how much I am worth. Have you ever seen a wise Kikuyu sunbathing his riches?” he posed when asked about his wealth, only saying Jesus Winner Ministry has 500 churches spread across the country, mostly in Mt Kenya.
Mr Mwai’s churches have a huge congregation, mostly low income earners who believe all their problems can be solved through prayers and fasting.
The pastor admits that he leads a vulnerable congregation, but dismisses widespread reports that the constitution of his church has made it a playground for politicians looking to manipulate voters into keeping them in office.
“I admit that most people who attend our services are vulnerable and I am proud to say I have seen their lives change for the better,” he said.
Improving prison facilities
“The sad thing is that many people don’t look at our philanthropy as a church, like improving prison facilities. We’ve done many things we don’t publicise. We give and support in silence.”
He is also fighting the perception that he owns a 20-acre piece grabbed from the government on Thika Superhighway.
Mr Mwai says Kasarani Mall Ltd, a subsidiary of Uchumi Supermarkets Plc, bought the land from Solio Construction Company Ltd for Sh85 million on March 20, 2001.
In September 2018, valuers said the land could be sold for Sh2.4 billion.
Around the same time, Jesus Winner Ministry, through Jewel Complex Ltd, signed an agreement with Kasarani Mall Ltd to buy three acres.
The pastor says Jesus Winner Ministry paid Sh450 million for the three acres, partly financed through a Sh270 million Equity Bank loan.
At the time, the troubled Uchumi Supermarkets hoped that proceeds from the land would enable it to pay creditors, employees and other debtors.
It was expected to be part of its turnaround strategy.
In January 2019, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) moved to the property, setting camps and erecting fences without permission or knowledge of Uchumi.
Uchumi, at the time, said the action had deprived the troubled retailer of its hard-earned property.
“We were on the verge of losing that land and money were it not for the intervention of President Ruto. He ensured the land was reverted to us,” the head of Jesus Winner Ministry said.
That aside, Mr Mwai says he is worried about the campaign by the government to help Kenyans secure employment abroad since the ownership and pedigree of “shadowy” agencies recruiting Kenyans on behalf of the government remain unknown.
The latest overseas job recruitment drive was conducted in his church on Tuesday and yesterday.
“President Ruto’s idea of getting young people jobs abroad is noble due to strained opportunities back home. My biggest fear, however, is the agencies,” the pastor says.
“You journalists have investigated and written widely about Kenyans losing billions of shillings to fraudsters who promise them jobs. My worry is that people may think it is Jesus Winner Ministry recruiting.”
Mr Mwai says he has expressed his fears to Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua on the need for transparency.
“We are only giving the government a venue to recruit. Let it be known that the hiring has nothing to do with Jesus Winner Ministry,” he added.
Efforts to get the names of 15 recruitment agencies that were at Jesus Winner Ministry from Dr Mutua were unsuccessful.
Jesus Winner Ministry will on April 10 conduct its own recruitment of Kenyans to work in South Korea, Mr Mwai said.
sciuri@ke.nationmedia.com
