Bishops speak up after two Catholic priests killed in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya (OSV News) -- Catholic bishops in Kenya are demanding a full investigation into the suspicious deaths of two priests within days of each other, calling the incidents deeply disturbing.

While expressing condolences to the bishop of Eldoret following the death of Father Allois Cheruiyot Bett and to the bishop of Nyahururu following the death of Father John Maina Ndegwa, Kenyan bishops expressed distress that both deaths appeared veiled with malicious intent and mystery.

"We wish to decry the death of these ministers of God and the sense of insecurity and helplessness created by such incidents against the servants of God," said Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba of Kisumu, president of the Kenyan bishops' conference, in a May 28 statement, which regretted that life in Kenya had become so cheap that murders and deaths were taken lightly and used carelessly for political expediency.

"The work carried out by our Catholic priests goes beyond the service of religion and evangelization. It reaches out to caring for the marginalized, the forgotten and the sick, to bring them hope that does not disappoint," the statement said.

The bishops' statement came as Catholics in Kenya continued to express shock at the deaths and demand action from the government.

Father Bett, a priest from the St. Matthias Mulumba Tot Parish in the Eldoret Diocese, was gunned down in cold blood on May 22 in Kabartile village in northwestern Kenya. He was returning to the parish headquarters after leading prayers in the Kerio Valley, an area where armed cattle rustlers prowl.

Auxiliary Bishop John Kiplimo Lelei of Eldoret told OSV News in a telephone interview that "It happened when he went out for a small Christian Mass. He was reaching out to the people."

As he condemned the killing, the bishop said the priest was helping the church's efforts in reaching out to the community, in the area that has suffered insecurity in recent times. He had climbed the hill to reach a Small Christian Community for prayers, but a single shot killed him as he came down after the prayers.

"The killers must have known the priest. A word goes round that they must have seen him climb the hill. As to what (was the) motive, no one seems to know. After the shot, two people were seen moving out of the bush and they were identified," he said.

Bishop Lelei said the death of the priest had saddened and shocked the community.

"It seems this is not banditry and if it's not, it seems they were targeting him, but the motive is not clear," he said.

Father Bett's death came right after the church laid to rest Father Maina, the priest in charge of of St. Louis Parish in Igwamiti, located in the Diocese of Nyahururu in central Kenya.

Father Maina died May 15 while being treated for injuries at the St. Joseph's Mission Hospital in Gilgil town.

At the funeral, Bishop Joseph Ndembu Mbatia of Nyahururu urged calm and patience as Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations continued to unravel the cause of the priest's death.

According to reports, a motorcycle rider had found Father Maina dumped by a roadside in the Kikopey area, along the Nairobi–Nakuru highway with minor injuries on one side of his head. The motorcyclist had rushed him to the hospital, but the priest died while undergoing treatment.

Preliminary findings revealed that the bruises observed on Father Maina's head "were unlikely to be the cause of death," said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in a May 20 statement.

The Daily Nation newspaper reported that the priest had whispered to medics at the hospital that he was poisoned. Samuel Ndegwa, the priest's father, said his son's last words to the rider who rescued him were, "they have given me poison." He then went silent.

Authorities are investigating links to threats he received after hosting a controversial political figure at a church event.