Prophet Owuor: From Maduro to Nakuru and miracle healings; the mighty burdens of a self-proclaimed ‘Mighty Prophet’

When he began preaching in the streets of Nakuru in the early 2000s, little was known about the self-proclaimed Prophet, who is said to have left his profession as a scientist and researcher in the United States of America.

When the ‘American dream’ could no longer hold water for the scientists, he retreated to his home and started the Repentance and Holiness Ministry in 2004.

As a child by then, I must have only heard of Pastor Pius Muiru and his ‘kuna nuru gizani’ that commanded the airwaves and made way into our living room in the 2000s.

The self-proclaimed Prophet would slowly capture masses, pulling large crowds in mega-crusades hosted in Kenyan towns and cities. 

Nicolás Maduro and Owuor’s global ties

Even so, Owuor’s influence, like wildfire, would spread further to South America, where he is evidently held in high regard. The ‘mighty prophet’ has visited Venezuela multiple times, where he has been accorded royal treatment by the now deposed President Nicolás Maduro. 

Maduro first welcomed the Kenyan prophet to his Miraflores Palace in 2024. In November 2025, Owuor made another visit to Venezuela to ‘offer prayers at a time of attack’. At the Miraflores Palace, Owuor made a prophetic decree for the protection of deposed President Maduro. He claimed to have been shown in a dream that the enemy would not come near Maduro or Venezuela. 

The decree would be put to the test nearly two months later, when Maduro was captured in a United States military raid on his palace on January 3, 2026. 

The capture followed months of tension and verbal war between the Trump and Maduro administrations. Here, Prophetic prayers could not stop Maduro’s seizure and subsequent prosecution in the US, where he is facing charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. 

The indictment has seen Maduro’s deputy, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, assume power as acting President of Venezuela.

In South America, the self-proclaimed Prophet has earned recognition in Chile. He visited the country’s capital, Santiago, in 2013, years after alleging that he prophesied a magnitude 8.8 earthquake that occurred off the coast of south-central Chile in 2010. 

In his high-profile tours of South America, the self-proclaimed prophet claimed to have been gifted a private jet in Brazil. 

After a 2024 mission in Rio de Janeiro, the prophet was allegedly gifted a Learjet 45 (LJ45) by the State Deputy in the Legislative Assembly, Rosenverg Reis. The jet was to help him in global evangelistic missions.

A prophet in his own country…

In the grassroots, Owuor’s ministry would set up ‘Altars’ with a ‘Free worship’ strategy that does not compel faithful to make financial contributions during services.

The molecular genetics scientist, who claims to be a prophet, has moved masses with his end-times preaching and ‘miracles’ purportedly performed during his mega crusades.

During such “revival” meetings, HIV/Aids patients claim to have been healed by the ‘prophet’, who is said to have also enabled the blind to see, the deaf to hear and the crippled to walk.

When he started preaching in the streets of Nakuru, Owuor claimed that God had revealed to him the Tsunami that hit Asia in the 2000s. This would be followed by proclamations of the world coming to an end and incidents of street cleaning to “prepare the way for the prophet”.

Science, religion and controversial healings

“Doctors treat, God heals”. This is a phrase you are likely to hear in hospital corridors or see inscribed on walls. This is how inter-connected science and religion are, as the two fields are constantly in an enduring battle between faith and fact. 

On one hand is reliance on observation and testable evidence, and on the other hand is reliance on beliefs, revelations and morality.

Controversy has marred the self-proclaimed prophet’s ministry and the nearly superhuman powers he is said to possess. 

In a mega crusade held in Nakuru in December 2025, Owuor claimed that through his intervention, a number of HIV/Aids patients had been cured. He said the ‘believers’ who once tested HIV positive are now negative. The people were called forward for all to see, as they donned placards saying they were HIV positive but now negative.

The self-proclaimed prophet would then attempt to back up the claims with scientific evidence of laboratory results and invited a number of medical practitioners to attest to the said miracle. The practitioners mentioned their specialities, the medical institutions they work under, and explained the complexities of healing an HIV patient.

These claims of healing have since raised public concerns in Kenya, with fears that such proclamations would lead to withdrawal from Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), which is a scientifically proven way to suppress viral load to undetectable levels.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) addressed the faith healing claims, warning that it could mislead vulnerable individuals, deter them from proven therapies or lead to drug resistance and loss of life. KMPDC said it would probe the faith healings and take action on medical practitioners found to have violated professional ethics based on unverified claims.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale directed KMPDC to probe the medics who made claims of miraculous healing, which could be a risk to public health and safety.

After the pronouncements by the health bodies, the Repentance and Holiness Ministry said it had documented 30 healed HIV cases, where tests turned negative at the DNA-PCR level. Owuor’s ministry claims to have collaborated with government bodies in Kenya, and that the HIV negative cases are monitored twice a year. It further claimed to have shared documentation with global bodies such as Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

On Monday, the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) condemned claims of miracle healing, cautioning Kenyans against accepting unverified assertions of supernatural cures.

Can one be cured of HIV?

World health bodies have long advocated for the use of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) to manage HIV, enabling patients to live long, healthy lives and prevent transmission by suppressing the virus to undetectable levels. The WHO has reported rare cases of eventual HIV cure through stem cell transplants.

Timothy Brown was the first person to be considered cured of HIV after undergoing the transplant in 2007.

A negative test at the DNA-PCR level means there was no detectable HIV genetic material (DNA or RNA) in the blood sample, suggesting you are likely not infected. There are also rare possibilities of patients on ART testing negative at DNA-PCR level.

Of miracles and raising the dead

Owuor’s ‘miracles’ have not only involved HIV patients, but also those with physical disabilities and other chronic illnesses like cancer.

However, his self-professed powers have also extended to claims of bringing dead people back to life. In 2017, Mama Rosa Chepochesau was at the centre of a widely-publicized ‘miracle’ as she was allegedly resurrected by the self-proclaimed prophet. 

Hundreds would later troop to Cheparten village in West Pokot to witness Mama Rosa’s return to life after allegedly succumbing to chronic arthritis. 

It was reported that her husband reached out to the ‘prophet’ for prayers, after which he allegedly received a message with the words “It is well”. Mama Rosa is said to have been brought back to life by the ‘prophet’ two hours after she was declared clinically dead.

However, the miraculous hand of healing took a different direction when Mama Rosa suddenly died, again, in January 2019. This time, she was not resurrected. 

Unlike the publicised “resurrection” Mama Rosa’s final send-off was conducted low-key at her sister-in-law’s home in Talau village in West Pokot County.

Owuor’s alleged resurrection powers are not distinct, as in 2019, South African preacher Alph Lukau also claimed to have resurrected a dead man. In a filmed stint, Lukau shouted “rise up” to the man in a coffin. Then he suddenly rose upright amid cheers from worshipers.

In Nigeria, the late Pastor TB Joshua, founder of The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), also claimed to have raised the dead. In a 2024 documentary by BBC, titled The Cult of TB Joshua, former video editors alleged that Joshua’s alleged miracles were faked through editing and staging before broadcasts. 

A prophetic display of opulence

Religious leaders are often expected to be humble servants of the lord. Well, I would not attempt to define humility today, as my most valid comparison is Mother Teresa of Calcutta. 

Otherwise, opulence is often seen in Owuor’s lifestyle. From flying choppers and private jets to riding motorcades full of heavy-duty vehicles, the self-proclaimed prophet displays luxurious preferences whenever he goes. Hold up! You guys are going by road? 

Talking of roads, it is well known that his followers have had to thoroughly clean roads in preparation for his arrival at a crusade. This comes alongside police sirens and chase cars that escort the self-proclaimed prophet to a crusade location. 

Owuor has previously addressed concerns about his huge security and convoys. He compared this to the Bible’s tale on throning of kings and presidents. On this basis, he argued that it was right for prophets to receive heavy security, adding that he wouldn’t mind increasing his convoy. 

This heavy security and convoys have, in some cases, inconvenienced other motorists, who have to endure road blocks to pave the way for Owuor’s motorcade. 

The prophet is reported to be living at a luxurious mansion in one of Nairobi’s lavish estates. 

Such kingly treatments have been displayed by multiple televangelists, including Nigeria’s self-proclaimed prophet, TB Joshua, who possessed a fleet of cars and travelled via private jet.

Kenya’s religious troubles and regulation attempts

Africa prides itself on being a prayerful continent, where Christianity and Islam are the most practised religions. However, these practices have sometimes led to extremism, leading to cultic followership.

Kenya is reported to have over 4,000 registered churches, while hundreds of others operate without registration.

In neighbouring Rwanda, the regulation of religious bodies is at the top of President Paul Kagame’s agenda. In December 2025, Kagame reportedly closed down 10,000 churches for failing to comply with a 2018 law designed to regulate places of worship.

AFP reported that the evangelical churches were closed for failing to abide by the rules on health, safety, and financial disclosures, and required all preachers to have theological training.

Back home, the religious regulation topic remains a thorny issue as church leaders push the state to stop its efforts on the regulation of churches. 

Owuor’s Repentance and Holiness Ministry is among those opposed to regulations by the state. In December 2025, the religious outfit urged the state to pursue errant religious leaders instead of blanket regulations on the church as a whole. They termed regulation attempts as unconstitutional, unlawful and unacceptable.

The church warned President William Ruto’s government that any attempts to “fight the pulpit” will see Kenya Kwanza being voted out in the next polls.

On his part, the Head of State has previously advocated for self-regulation by churches.

Ruto’s stance took a different direction from one that he held in May 2023, when he formed a Presidential Task Force on the Review of the Legal and Regulatory Framework Governing Religious Organizations. This was after the aftermath of the Shakahola religious cult that claimed the lives of over 400 people. 

Religious leaders opposed the Religious Organisations Bill 2024, prompting the postponement of a public participation forum.

The Bill sought to establish a regulatory framework for religious organisations to curb extremism and improve accountability within faith-based institutions.