Priests killed in line of duty

Kenya: Kenya’s story of struggle for multi-party democracy would not be complete without the mention of the role of the Catholic Church.

Catholic clergy challenged the morality of State-sanctioned corruption, poor governance, weak and corrupt institutions in the years between 1988-1992 during the reign of Kanu.

Many lost their lives in the course of the struggle but this did not quieten the voice of the Church.

Among the voices silenced was an American priest - the late Father John Kaiser, who was found murdered on August 23, 2000 near Naivasha town. A single bullet to the head was all it took to end his life. Fr. Kaiser, who had clashed several times with members of the Cabinet, was shot at an isolated spot off the Naivasha-Nakuru highway.

Friends and political allies of the priest denounced the killing as being politically motivated - ordered by his enemies at the heart of government.

They said that in the months before his death, Kaiser had received threats from members of Kenya’s political elite. Paul Muite, a leading Opposition MP at the time, said: “In his discussions with me, Kaiser expressed fears for his life and named certain people. I have no doubts that his death is a political assassination.”

Kaiser had made headlines in the country the previous year when he accused two powerful Cabinet ministers of organising tribal clashes, which left thousands dead in the early 1990s. Shortly afterwards, the government ordered his deportation.

Another controversial murder of a Catholic priest was that of Irish missionary Brother Larry Timmons in Lare, Njoro, near Nakuru town. Brother Timmons was shot in mysterious circumstances after robbers broke into his home in Lare on the night of January 29, 1997.

A policeman, Francis Kimanzi, fired the fatal bullet that hit the priest when he responded to a distress call at the priest’s residence.

It happened that Mr Kimanzi was one of four prominent local figures whom Brother Timmons had accused of corruption. Another controversial killing was that of the late Fr. Luigi Andeni, who was murdered by armed robbers on the night of September 14, 1998.