Kenya: Two priests killed in one week

Fr Alloyce Bett. Image: Fides

Source: Fides

Two priests have been killed in Kenya within one week.

Father Alloyce Cheruiyot Bett was shot by several gunmen at the end of Mass on 22 May in the village of Kakbiken in the Elgeyo Marakwetm County, in the Western Highlands of Kenya.

Kenyan police said they have arrested six people in connection with the priest's murder.

On 15 May, Father John Ndegwa Maina, parish priest of St Louis Parish in Igwamiti, aged 43, died in hospital after being found seriously injured on the side of the Nakuru-Nairobi highway, several kilometres from his parish. He later died at St Joseph's Mission Hospital. The priest reportedly told the taxi driver who found him that he had been kidnapped in Nyahururu. According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation, Fr Maina may have been attacked by thieves demanding part of a donation the priest received from former Vice President Rigathi Gachagua during a church service on April 27. The priest had reportedly expressed concern about the threats to his safety but had not officially reported them to the authorities.

Joseph Ndembu Mbatia, Bishop of Nyahururu, said: "There is an ongoing investigation. Once the investigators have completed their investigation into Father Maina's death, they will shed light on the matter and answer the questions we have all been asking ourselves over the past week,

Fr Maina's funeral took place on 22 May, at the Catholic Priests' Cemetery on Tabor Hill in Ol Joro Orok, in Nyandarua County, in the presence of hundreds of people.