_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Kenya_______________
Missionary’s death unresolved
Church rejects official explanation
A year after the mysterious death of an American missionary priest in Kenya, Church leaders in that country continue to seek explanations for the killing.
On August 24, 2000, Father John Kaiser, a 67-year-old Mill Hill Missionary, was found dead with a gunshot wound in his head. The official report by the Kenyan Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said the priest committed suicide. The American Federal Bureau of Investigation, called in to assist the investigation, confirmed the theory of suicide. But the Kenyan Bishops’ Conference disagrees. The bishops believe Father Kaiser was murdered because of his activities in defense of human rights.
The bishops reiterated their position in a statement released on August 20, saying, “We do not accept that Father Kaiser committed suicide.” The bishops called on the Kenyan government to “re-examine its conscience on matters of public safety and security: indeed, a government that is unable to protect the lives of its citizens is a questionable one.” The bishops also asked for the publication of a government commission’s report on clashes over land ownership—a topic that had provoked Father Kaiser’s keen interest and caused him to become sharply critical of the government.
Bishop, government minister clash
Priest ordered out of parish
A controversy is brewing between the Catholic Church in Kenya and a powerful government official. The stage for the controversy is the Eldoret diocese, about 200 miles northwest of Nairobi. Diocesan officials and supporters of Trade and Industry Minister
Nicholas Biwott are engaged in a war of words over the activities of a parish in Mokwo, in the parliamentary constituency which the minister represents.
After the parish priest, Father Michael Rop, criticized the government, Biwott’s followers demanded his removal, then threatened to evict him forcibly. When Eldoret Bishop Cornelius Korir voiced his support for Father Rop, and complained about the evident attempts to intimidate the priest, he was barred by local police from making a personal visit to the Mokwo parish.
Father Rop, who is accused of fomenting rebellion among the young people of the parish, insists that he was merely urging his people to be independent of government support. “I have told the Catholic faithful here that they should stop depending on handouts, as this would ruin them. In fact, some of them wait for politicians to give them handouts instead of going to church,” he said. Father Rop is also said to be unpopular with the government because he has spoken out against corruption in the region. For instance, he questioned the government’s acquisition of 1,000 acres of forest land as a memorial to Biwott’s mother. Bishop Korir also had expressed dismay that the government had purchased so much land as a memorial to a minister’s mother, when many national heroes receive no such honors.
Back to Catholic World Report October 2001 Table of Contents