Peacemaker buried in favourite attire as thousands pay tribute

**Political leaders led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto (centre) pray for the body Bishop Cornelius Korir at Sport Club grounds in Eldoret. (Photo: Peter Ochieng’/Standard)**

The tomb with the remains of Eldoret Catholic Bishop Cornelius Korir was shut at exactly 4.24pm Saturday. And President Uhuru Kenyatta and other dignitaries watched as the body of a man eulogised as a consummate peacemaker was pushed into his final resting place. Then they sprinkled bits of soil as a symbol of sending him off.

Bishop Korir’s body, which was embalmed at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital on Friday, was dressed in golden vestment and his head adorned in a golden witer (head gear), his favourite attire when he lived.

Pall bearers, priests many of whom he mentored, carefully placed his coffin inside the 2.9m by 1.225m tomb at the Grotto of the Virgin Mary, a small room inside the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Eldoret. The tomb is hewn out of a chamber right behind the altar.

The bishop lay in a mahogany coffin, decked with shiny metallic handles that glittered in the morning sunshine, a fitting symbol of a peacemaker who straddled across the restless North Rift radiating peace messages.

“Bishop Korir was an icon of peace. He dedicated his life to preaching peaceful coexistence and harmonious relationships among communities, used the pulpit to minister forgiveness, reconciliation and unity,” said President Kenyatta in his tribute.

Spiritual mentor

“He leaves a rich legacy of sowing the seeds of love, friendship and brotherhood, he was adored, respected and a revered church elder whose wise counsel was sought by his flock and the county at large.”

Deputy President William Ruto termed the bishop “a friend and a spiritual mentor”. He recalled that Korir taught him how to recite the Lord’s Prayer.

“There was a time when the Bishop visited my family. His mission was to teach us how to pray the Lord’s Prayer and we wondered because we had mastered it from our times in Sunday school. But to our consternation, he taught us a different way of reciting it, he told us it must be recited seven times,” said Ruto to the amusement of mourners.

John Cardinal Njue presided over the Mass at the Eldoret Sports Club, with Mombasa Diocese Bishop Martin Kivuva delivering the sermon, based on the peace message Bishop Korir lived by.

The funeral service started at 7am with a procession of priests adorning their ceremonial vestments acting as pall bearers. The Catholic Women Association (CWA) sang hymns as the hearse snaked its way from the Sacred Heart Cathedral, two kilometres away.

**President Uhuru Kenyatta pays his last respect as Bishop Cornelius Korir is laid to rest at Sacred Heart Cathedral Dioceses of Eldoret. (Photo: Peter Ochieng’/Standard)**

Thousands of people congregated at the sports ground to bid farewell to a man who was the epitome of peace and beacon of hope during critical moments.

Echoes of the Bishop’s role in helping fleeing families in the wake of the 2007/08 post-election violence reverberated through Michael Ranneberger, who served as United States ambassador to Kenya when violence flared in the North Rift and other parts of the country.

“The insights which he shared with me helped shape my response to the post-election crisis of 2007-2008. He courageously spoke truth to power. He leaves a living legacy in all the lives that he saved, in all the lives that he helped and in all that he did to promote a more peaceful nation,” said Renneberger.

Bishop Korir was one of those who appeared before the Waki Commission that investigated the post-election violence. The United States played a key broker role in settling the political conflict.

The decision by the church to bury Bishop Korir inside the church building attracted curiosity, especially from non-Catholics. In the Kalenjin community, from which the Bishop hailed, it is unheard of for a person to be buried inside a building.

But according to Catholic traditions, a bishop who dies in office is to be laid to rest inside a cathedral, unless he writes a will indicating otherwise.

Other Catholic bishops who were buried inside their churches include former Nyeri Bishop Gatimu Ngandu (1987), his successor Nicodemus Kirima (2007), Tiberius Mugendi (1993) and Bishop Longinus Atundo of Bungoma (1996).

The little known side of Bishop Korir in his youth also came to light in some of the tributes. A former schoolmate recalled the Bishop’s past as a promising footballer, who played as a defender, perhaps symbolic of his later role as a guardian of the downtrodden in society.

An undated photo of the Bishop included in his eulogy shows a tall, strong young man, who would have made an excellent footballer had he not chosen the seminary.

“Bishop was a gentleman who was well focused and very sensitive to the needs of others. He was an excellent footballer full back and chess player. He was good at keeping the seminary grounds neat by lawn mowing,” his former schoolmate, Father Alfred Kyanda, eulogised him.

His Secretary, Emmy Mutai, spoke of a great personality who she recognised for his humility, intelligence kindness, wisdom, and selflessness “which I admired so much”.

“The fond memories of the times and good working relationship we had together keep lingering in my mind. I will miss your great words of inspiration. You always reminded me to be strong in prayer and faith. We loved you but god loved you most,” said Ms Mutai who worked for the bishop for 10 years. And despite the Bishop being a man of the cloth who spent most of his time at the Cathedral, he also found time for his ancestral family.

“Bishop was our main pillar. He united our family, especially after the loss of our father. He often consulted on anything that pertained to family issues. We greatly relied on his wisdom. He was a dear friend to all of us. We shall greatly miss him,” the family said in its tribute.

And perhaps in an indication that a great man was no more, a giant LCD screen that was beaming the occasions collapsed during the funeral Mass, injuring three mourners.