Mombasa Archbishop Boniface Lele resigns

 BY NGUMBAO KITHI

Catholic Archbishop of Mombasa Boniface Lele, 66 has resigned due to ill health.

Reports show that Pope Francis  allowed Lele to leave his post in conformity with Canon 401 and 2 of the Code of Canon Law which allows priests to resign under such circumstances.

There are no details about Lele’s illness or state of health but Father Wilybard Lagho, the Vicar General at the Mombasa Catholic Diocese told The Standard on Saturday that,  “Archbishop Lele wrote to the Pope seeking to be relieved off his duties on grounds of ill-health and this permission was granted,” without elaborating.

The permission was granted in a papal letter dated October delivered by the Pope’s representative to Kenya Archbishop Charles D Balvo.

It shows that Lele’s resignation will “take effect on November 1, 2013” and that before formal replacement of the departing archbishop,  the bishop of Malindi The Right Reverend Emmanuel Barbara, who is also the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Mombasa.

Bishop Lele took over the archbishop of Mombasa from John Njenga in the last eight years.

Archbishop Lele was the bishop of Kitui before been transferred to Mombasa.

Father Lagho declined to discuss anything beyond Balvo’s statement.

“I can just read the statement from the papal office, I’m not allowed to tell you why he has resigned, please understand the reason,” he said.