In December 2008 he was elected as the Moderator of the 19th General Assembly. Coupled with an enormous wealth of experience the Right Rev. David Riitho Gathanju has served with dedication and with diligence  as a Moderator and Clerk in various Presbyteries where his duties on behalf of the Presbytery have been to see that the word of God is preached in purity, that the sacraments are rightly administered and that pastoral oversight is maintained in the Presbytery.