SW News: At the National Prayer Day event on Tuesday, President William Ruto of Kenya led the nation in prayer as civilians and political leaders gathered at the Nyayo stadium in Nairobi. He prayed for rain in order to stop the country from experiencing its sixth consecutive dry spell, which could be disastrous for food security and the economy.

"We pray for rain; we pray that you shall open the heavens for us so that you can have plenty and so that our farms can produce. So that we can have food in plenty and so that the people of Kenya can rejoice. Father, we commit our children; we call our children, Heavenly Father, from drugs, we call them to come back home. We call our children from alcoholism; we claim back the future of our nation. We pray for Kenya, we lift up our nation before you, Lord, that you will find favor and grace even amongst the community of nations. We pray for each Kenyan that, Heavenly Father, you shall cause them to attain the wishes of their hearts. We commit the days to come to your good hands and we want to thank you all honor and glory shall come back to you because we pray in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!”

This follows a joint call by the country's spiritual leaders to dedicate an entire day to prayer to ease drought conditions in the nation. Ruto’s own ambitious economic revival strategy for the country is also dependent on a successful rainy season. He urged people from all faiths to pray for the country.

According to meteorologists, climate change brought on by human activity has made extreme weather worse. Some of the worst drought conditions in decades have been plaguing Kenya and other east African countries, leading to agricultural failure, the extinction of livestock, wildlife, and biodiversity, as well as starvation. The economy of Kenya is heavily reliant on domestic agriculture.

The UN agency has dubbed the persistent drought in the area as a rapidly unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.