Two die in long wait for Owuor’s ‘healing’

Two people on Sunday died while waiting to be prayed for by televangelist David Owuor at Nakuru’s Afraha Stadium.

Nakuru Divisional Police Commander Bernard Kioko said the two were found lying on green lawns outside the stadium and rushed to Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital, where they were confirmed dead on arrival.

“They died of natural causes and the deaths had nothing to do with the large crowd that turned out to listen to Prophet Owuor. This was the biggest meeting witnessed in Nakuru and no major criminal incident was reported anywhere during the day or at night, except for 100 pickpockets taken in for questioning by police,” he said.

Believers from various denominations brought in their sick— most of whom spent the two nights and days in the cold as all guest houses had been hired out to teachers attending this year’s national music festivals.

A resident of a nearby estate described the scenes at the stadium as deplorable “where some people came with their sick children, only to spend the night in the cold, no food or water, not to mention sanitary facilities.”

The venue was packed beyond capacity as an extension to the stadium, reserved for future expansion, was turned into a large ‘bedroom’ at night and an ‘eating house’ during the day.

Traders took advantage of the crowd to sell all manner of goods at makeshift food kiosks. Hawkers were also all over to serve those who did not want to walk.

Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua made the jubilant congregation enjoy a round of rapturous applause when he claimed a senior government official had also been healed a day before Prophet Owuor arrived in Nakuru.

Men, women and children with various medical conditions were paraded before the ecstatic crowd to prove God’s healing power through the self-proclaimed prophet.

The internationally acclaimed preacher said senior doctors were also at hand to prove the claims of healing. At the end of the day, some were happy and hopeful as others escorted their sick relatives back home the way they came.