The brutal killing of Kenyan priest Fr. Alois Cheruiyot Bett, pastor at the newly established St. Matthias Mulumba Tot parish in the Diocese of Eldoret, has sent shock waves in a region plagued by poverty and banditry.
The priest was killed in an ambush on May 22nd, shortly after celebrating Mass in Kakbiken, a village in the Western Highlands of Kenya.
He was struck by two bullets, one in the neck and another to the stomach, when gunmen opened fire. He died instantly.
Locals believe he was killed by bandits who suspected him of acting as a spy for security forces. According to Richard Ruto, catechist of St. Mathias Mulumba Tot Parish, detectives visited the priest’s residence twice—on May 16 and May 17. During these visits, they inquired about the priest’s whereabouts before leaving each time. Ruto suspects the bandits mistakenly thought the priest was an informant who was using his local knowledge to reveal their positions.
Fr. Bett was killed on the same day that another priest, Fr. John Maina Ndegwa from Igwamiti Catholic Parish in the Laikipia Diocese, was being buried. Fr. Ndegwa had succumbed to injuries sustained during an earlier attack by gunmen.
Bishop Dominic Kimengich of Eldoret suggests that the latest violence could be a catalyst for change, inspiring a new beginning amid these challenging circumstances.
“We believe that there is a reason behind everything that happens. It could be that God is talking to us. God might have wanted to take this young man for the sake of peace in Kerio Valley,” the cleric said during a requiem for the priest on May 25.
“Fr. Allois’ blood, which was spilt innocently, will not go for nothing. Just as Jesus spilled his blood to save us, we believe that the blood of all those who give their lives becomes the seed for new life.”
“Justice must be done,” the bishop thundered as he addressed hundreds of mourners, noting that Fr. Bett’s death could be a wake-up call to the security agencies to take insecurity in the area more seriously.
“Maybe it has taken the life of Fr. Allois for us to seriously address the issue of peace in Kerio Valley. This is a wake-up call for all of us,” he said.
He noted that the killing could make priests apprehensive of pastoring in the area, and called on the leadership of the Church and the state to take the situation seriously.
“The leadership must take the insecurity issue seriously. It can happen to anyone, even them. Right now, chances are no priest wants to go to the region because they don’t feel safe. That is the ripple effect of this incident,” Kimengich warned.
“If priests say that they are not feeling safe, I can’t force them to go there. I will tell them to leave the place immediately. If the Sisters say that they are not feeling safe, I have to tell them to come out,” he said.
“Whoever did this has done great injustice to our country and to our people. It is something terrible, but we leave everything to God,” Bishop Kimengich said.
The recent killings have led to schools being shuttered and hospital staff fleeing the region. 54 primary and 19 secondary schools were forced to shut down in the volatile region.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) from the County have backed the leadership of the unions to close the schools until peace returns to the area.
John Cheberi, the Branch Secretary General of KNUT, called for the arrest and prosecution of the “brutal killing” of Fr. Bett.
“You know that these criminals are now targeting non-locals. Our teachers are living in fear, and we want them to leave so that they can save their lives,” he said.
“If a priest, a symbol of peace, can be targeted and killed for preaching peace, what will happen to teachers, the majority who come from other regions?” Cheberi questioned.
He claimed that the conflicts in the area have tribal undertones, and non-indigenes had become targets.
“We do not want to traverse that dangerous path of chasing away non-locals who are employed to help our people by offering services in various sectors,” he said.
Police have, however, sought to reassure residents and government workers that everything is being put in place to ensure their safety.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat said additional security measures have been put in place to guarantee the safety of schools and other essential services.
“We want to assure everyone, including our teachers and school children, that we have provided adequate security, and learning should go on,” Lagat said.
Attacks on priests have become a growing problem in the East African nation.
On August 23, 2000, Fr. John Anthony was found dead, with his short gun lying beside him. He was shot in the back of the head. Police investigation and an inquiry carried out by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation all pointed to suicide, but questions over his death continue to linger. In a manuscript about his life that was published after his death, Fr. Anthony had indicated his life was being threatened by Kenyan authorities, given his critical remarks against President Daniel Arab Moi. The manuscript also reveals that the priest had no intention of resigning, let alone of harming himself.
In 2003, Fr. Martin Macharia of St. Francis Xavier Parklands Parish was shot dead and his car stolen. Two years later, Italian-born Bishop Luigi Locati was gunned down as he walked to his station. Nine years later, Fr. Peter Malley Guyo Wako and four others were sentenced to death in connection with the killing.
In 2017, Fr. Evans Juma Oduor was killed near the Chiga Market in Kisumu East County, and his car was set ablaze.
In October 2019, Fr. Michael Kyendo’s body was found stuffed in a gunny bag with his throat slit, one week after he went missing. A suspect later claimed in court that he was the victim of a sexual assault by the priest.
The same year, Fr. Eutycas Murangiri Muthuri of Limbine parish was stabbed to death by attackers.
The recent killings point to a generalized trend of killings targeting priests, mostly carried out by bandits, either to steal money or to silence the people they fear could expose their evil deeds.
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to die a martyr…