Twenty-three years ago today at around 6 am, along Navaisha – Nakuru highway two brothers stumbled on the corpse of a white man.
It later came to be known that the body was of Father John Anthony Kaiser.
His body was lying next to a shotgun and in his shirt pocket, a live round of its ammunition was found. He was lying just a few yards from his pickup truck
23 years later, his family on Thursday published an anniversary message in the local daily.
“It has been 23 years since you left us under tragic circumstances. You remain alive in the hearts and minds of your relatives, Mill Hill Missionaries, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, Friends, Civil Society and other people of Kenya whom you served dearly,” the message reads in part.
Fr Kaiser’s family says that his memorial anniversary is not only a commemoration of his death but a day to remember the oppressed, poor, and those suffering other injustices in society.
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops will celebrate his anniversary on August 25, 2023, at Morendat-Naivasha along the Nakuru- Nairobi highway.
Born in the United States of America on November 23, 1932, Fr Kaiser after graduating from Saint Louis University, came to Keya in 1983.
He served as a missionary and was known for his tireless efforts in advocating for justice for the poor, oppressed, and vulnerable and preaching peaceful coexistence.
In 1999, Kaiser had given a public testimony before the Akiwumi Commission on Tribal Clashes in the run-up to the 1997 general elections.
At the time of his death, he died carrying documents he intended to present to the Akiwumi Commission.
Fr Kaiser was also set to testify against the government before the International Criminal Court in the Hague in three weeks.
Still in November 1999, the Kenyan government tried to deport Fr Kaiser, claiming that his work permit had expired.
Kaiser briefly went into hiding in Kisii before he was granted a new work permit, but only after intervention by the US Ambassador Johnnie Carson.
In 2003, then-Attorney General Amos Wako conceded to the wishes of the family and church and granted a public inquest into the priest’s death.
The hearing began in Naivasha but was later transferred to Nairobi under magistrate Maureen Odera who in her ruling directed police to institute fresh and comprehensive investigations into the priest’s killing.
The Government of Kenya proceeded and an inquest into Fr Kaiser’s death was opened at the request of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB).
The inquest ended on June 2, 2007, after hearing and gathering evidence from 111 witnesses.
On August 1, 2007, the then presiding Magistrate ruled that Fr Kaiser had been murdered and that the ‘suicide’ theory was based on a preconceived notion.
She further stated that she could not, on the basis of the evidence table before her in the inquest, point out with certainty who killed the priest.
However, up to date, the case is among many others which have not been concluded.
All said and done, the family said Fr Kaiser’s relatives, Mill Hill Missionaries, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, fellow Christians, members of the human rights group, civil society, and other people of goodwill continue to celebrate his life.
They will remember him for his tireless efforts in advocating for justice for the poor, oppressed, and vulnerable and preaching peaceful coexistence.