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Rector of Seminary in Kenya Murdered

A Catholic priest of the Diocese of Nakuru, Kenya, was killed on Jan. 26 as vicious interethnic violence claimed more lives in the Rift Valley. The Rev. Michael Kamau Ithondeka, 41, was killed at an illegal roadblock set up by armed youths on the Nakuru–Eldama Ravine Road. He was vice rector at St. Mathias Mulumba Senior Seminary in Tindinyo.

According to the Rev. Simon Githara, parish priest of Eldama Ravine, Father Kamau was accosted by youths who claimed they were on a revenge mission after one of their own was killed in Nakuru. His pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears as the youths descended on him with crude weapons, killing him on the spot. The Rev. John Mbaraka, a local priest, said Father Kamau knew his attackers because he used to pay their children’s school fees when he was a parish priest in the Diocese of Eldoret.

The news comes as other reports indicate that public mortuaries in Nakuru have received at least 51 bodies, and police are still collecting more from around the town. The violence appears to be revenge against members of the Kalenjin, Luo and Luhyia communities following the recent killing of members of the Kikuyu community in the Rift Valley. The death of Father Kamau comes in the wake of threats to Kikuyu Catholic personnel working in the Rift Valley Province. In Eldoret, two priests based at Moi University escaped death narrowly last week when armed men attacked their house at night.

Zimbabwe Elections Under a Cloud

Church officials said it is unlikely Zimbabwe will hold a free and fair presidential election this year, since Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has refused demands for a new constitution to be implemented before the poll. “Mugabe knows he can play games and get away with it,” said Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa. The 83-year-old president of Zimbabwe “has the security forces on his side, and his opposition has no protection under the law, so he doesn’t need to make any concessions,” Bishop Dowling told This article appears in February 11 2008.