“We speak same language”: Kenyan Catholic Bishop Appeals for Unity between Warring Communities after Priest’s Murder

In his June 2 address, Bishop Kimengich disclosed that the calls for peace in Kerio Valley by the Catholic Church had not been successful, starting with when his predecessor, the late Bishop Cornelius Korir pleaded for an end to violence, his cries falling on deaf ears.

Bishop Kimengich appealed to leaders in Kerio Valley, especially community leaders, to “go deeper” into what was ailing the region where cattle rustling, and killings have claimed scores of lives and led to thousands of displacements.

“The late Bishop Cornelius Korir worked in this place, and I was told that before he left, something happened. The Bishop gave up on the people, and since that time, we have never had peace in this place,” the Kenyan Catholic Bishop, who has been at the helm of Eldoret Diocese since February 2020 shared, referring to his predecessor, who passed on in October 2017 aged 67.

“It is important to investigate this matter deeply,” he said, and added, “Can we go deeper and look for a solution which will bring peace here. It is no longer business as usual because if a Priest has been killed, we have crossed the red line. And nobody is safe here.”

“People of Marakwet,” Bishop Kimengich said, begging the community that has always been in armed struggle for land and livestock with the Pokot along the Kerio Valley, “I am your Bishop. And our leaders, let us look for a long-lasting solution to this problem.”

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“As the Church, we are not looking for anything in this place. We are not looking for power. We only come to serve the people of God,” said the Catholic Bishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in May 2010 as Auxiliary Bishop of Kenya’s Lodwar Diocese.

He further decried failure by the community where Fr. Allois was murdered to act following the killing. “The community said that they needed three days. We all agreed to give them three days. But those criminals have not been apprehended. We wonder if they are even still around if in the three days they have not been apprehended,” Bishop Kimengich lamented.

His sentiments were echoed by Bishop John Kiplimo Lelei, his Auxiliary, who called for the killers of Fr. Allois to be identified.

In his Tuesday, June 3 homily at the burial of the Kenyan Catholic Priest who died aged 33, Bishop Lelei said, “We know the government has been working on this matter but we can only pray that they speed up their investigations. We want the bandits to be known and for justice to take its course.”

Bishop Lelei mourned the late Fr. Allois who he described as a Priest who served with obedience.

“Fr. Allois was ever cheerful and kind. He had lots of virtues,” the Kenyan Catholic Bishop said at the burial Mass held at St. Michael Terige Boys grounds, adding that the late Priest “was very friendly to children in his home area who always surrounded him whenever he visited his parents.”

He said that the killing of Fr. Allois had left the entire Diocese in extreme sadness and shock. “Many have continued to ask the question why our Priest was killed. No one has given us the response, and so, we leave everything to God,” the Kenyan Bishop said.

According to Bishop Lelei, the murdered Priest had a special way of bringing people together. This, he said, is the quality that informed his assignment to be the first Parish Priest of Tot. “He was sent to bring people close to each other and to preach peace. And he served exemplarily well.”

The Kenyan Bishop remembered that Fr. Allois’ slogan in Tot was always, “we are here to disarm the mind, and to disarm the heart.”

Appealing to the people of God in Eldoret Diocese to “let go” of their pain, Bishop Lelei said, “We have cried and asked so many questions. But it is time to let go. It is time to stay calm and try to accept what happened. It is time to surrender. It is time to believe in God, and to believe in the resurrection.”

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He expressed confidence that even with Fr. Allois’ death, the mission in Kerio Valley will go on. “Those who killed Fr. Allois may think that he died. But he is alive. They think that his mission ended. But no. His mission isn’t his. It is God’s mission,” Bishop Lelei said.

He echoed the sentiments of Bishop Kimengich who in an earlier address said that the Catholic Priests’ spilt blood, would be “a seed for new life” in the community set back by decades of cattle rustling and killings.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.