Bishop Isaiah Deye was on Thursday elected the 7th Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church marking a new beginning for a church that has been troubled for 10 years.
Bishop Deye, who has been acting since April, following the ouster of his predecessor Joseph Ntombura, won with a landslide after garnering 281 votes.
His closest competitor Bishop Catherine Mutua got 35 votes, while Bishop Bundi Miriti and Bishop Harrison Mwiti garnered 26 and 24 votes respectively.
The race for the Methodist Church top seat had attracted five candidates but Rev Samuel Kathia stepped down along the way.
Delegates attending the 58th conference are also expected to elect synod bishops, Conference Secretary and conference honorary treasurer.
Bishop Deye takes over a church that has faced intense leadership wrangles and divisions and is expected to unite the flock.
He becomes the second clergyman from the coast region to lead the Methodist Church in Kenya since it became autonomous from the Church of Britain in 1967.
Despite many Synods having embraced the removal of Rev Ntombura, some have sustained a dissenting voice with a section of Singwaya Synod leaders vowing not to support the changes.
However, many Methodists have welcomed the election of Bishop Deye saying they expect the new leader to reunite the church.
