Kenya: Archbishop of Nyeri has died

Archbishop Nicodemus Kirima of Nyeri is DeadArchbishop Nicodemus Kirima of Nyeri in central Kenya died in hospital in Nairobi yesterday afternoon. He was 71. Fr John Baptist Kariuki, the archdiocesan moderator, confirmed the news to CISA, saying the archbishop passed away at about 1.30pm. The archbishop was in his third week in hospital. He had been moved to Nairobi in a coma on November 4, after developing complications while undergoing treatment in Nyeri. He has had a kidney problem since 2002. There was a slight improvement in his health last week, leading to his transfer from the Intensive Care Unit to the High Dependency Unit. The prelate had undergone a successful kidney transplant in 2002. His health improved considerably until last year when he developed kidney failure while on a trip to the US. He has since been in and out of hospital for dialysis. Archbishop Kirima was born in 1936 in Karatina, Nyeri, and ordained a priest on Dec. 22, 1962. He was appointed bishop of Mombasa in Feb. 1978. In 1988, he was moved to Nyeri to succeed the late Bishop Ceaser Gatimu. Pope John Paul II elevated Nyeri to a metropolitan see in May 1990 and named Kirima archbishop. Source: CISA