Kainuk town in Turkana South was overcome with joy as residents and Catholic faithful welcomed Bishop-elect Rev John Mbinda of the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar.
Mbinda will be ordained and installed as the fourth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar at Ekales centre, Lodwar.
The residents and the faithful were led by Bishop Dominic Kimengich of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret and the administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar to receive the bishop-elect.
They received Mbinda in Kainuk town before proceeding to Lodwar.
Kimengich was serving in Turkana before he was appointed by Pope Francis to take over in Eldoret.
“I want to thank God and the Holy Father (Pope Francis) for appointing me to work with the people of Turkana. I look forward to working with them,” Mbinda said.
He said he has seen the joy of the Turkana people, something that encourages him as he begins his ministry in Turkana.
“The church has an approach of evangelism, which is integral and I believe that we will not only be looking at the spiritual and pastoral part of life, but we will also be focusing on other needs of the people of Turkana,” he said.
Bishop Kimengich said he is thankful to God that people of Turkana have received a substantive bishop who will be able to carry out evangelisation and other aspects.
He assured Mbinda that Turkana people are very welcoming and he is in safe hands.
“The people definitely want to work with the bishop. I urge them to support his programmes and the vision that he has for the diocese,” he said.
Pope Francis appointed Mbinda as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar.
The letter of his appointment was sent to the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops by the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya and South Sudan, Archbishop Bert Van Megen.
He was born on May 5, 1973, in Kanzalu Parish in the Catholic Diocese of Machakos.
In 1993, he joined the congregation at Spiritan Missionary Seminary in Arusha, Tanzania, then Novitiate in 1996 after which he took his first religious vows in 1997 in Magamba, Tanzania.
In 1997, Mbinda proceeded to study theology at Tangaza University College.
After taking his final vows, he was ordained deacon in 2001 and a priest on May 18, 2002.
As a new priest, he was posted to Kositei Parish in the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru, where he worked for seven years.
He then left for Ireland to pursue a Masters in Development Studies.
Upon returning to Kenya in 2009, he was appointed parish priest of St Austin’s Parish in the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi where he served for six years.
Mbinda was elected the provincial superior of the Spiritans for Kenya and South Sudan in January 2015 where he served for two terms until January 2021.
Later he left for the UK, where he also ministered at St Chad RC Church in South Norwood, Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, from September 2021.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
