NAIROBI, AUGUST 26 (ZENIT.org)

    Fr. John Anthony Kaiser was an annoyance in Kenya, so someone decided to kill him. Last Thursday morning, Bishop Peter Kairo of Nakuru, was among the first to go to Naivasha, the scene of the crime, some 40 miles west of Nairobi. The priest's body was still lying on the pavement. Fr. Kaiser had been shot in the head.

    The missionary was aware of the dangers surrounding him. Last Wednesday, during a visit to Nairobi, this U.S. priest, who belonged to the St. Joseph Missionary Society of Mill Hill, said he feared for his life. "He was sad and nervous," a religious companion said.

    Fr. Kaiser was born in Minnesota in 1932. He went to Kenya shortly after his ordination, and worked in the Kisii diocese for 20 years. In 1993 he was transferred to the Ngong diocese, where he established schools and outpatient clinics. He struggled continuously to help the poor and obtain justice for them. Called before the Akiwumi Investigation Commission on ethnic confrontations, the missionary testified against two government ministers. Last November he was close to being expelled because of his criticism of corruption and ethnic violence.

    The weapon was left near the body in an obvious attempt to impute suicide to Fr. Kaiser, but such a theory holds no credibility among those who knew him. Even Kenyan police state the missionary was killed.

    Fr. Kaiser's murder is a symptom of the crisis Kenya is undergoing. Last Tuesday, during a service for the anniversary of Jomo Kenyatta's death, Fr. Dominic Wamugunda, Catholic chaplain at the University of Nairobi, said, "We pray for this country, but we also have the duty to ask questions. If Kenyatta came back to life, what would he identify with, with Parliament, with the list of shame, with the educational system, the condition of the roads and the health system, or the cows that move freely on our roads?"

    Among those present was President Daniel Arap Moi who said, as he left the church, that he wanted to reply to the criticisms made against him.

    Drought, risk of famine, rationing of electric light, disorders related to land management, a general condition of ageing infrastructure are the principal reasons that have kept Kenya in the news in recent years, demolishing the image of the tourists' paradise. ZE00082702

We encourage you to check the Catholic World News site at the CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and the Dossiers, features and Daily Dispatches from ZENIT International News Agency CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC, but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.