Why The Catholic Church In  Kenya Published Lies About Bishop Korir

By Alexander Opicho
Late Bishop Korir
Late Bishop Korir

During the first two weeks of November 2017, the Catholic Church in Kenya published outright falsehood in relation to the life and times of Bishop Korir as a peace maker.The falsehood was recklessly spread as part of the eulogies during the burial of Korir who had worked for decades as a Bishop of the catholic diocese of Eldoret.The falsehood relates with absolute claims that Korir was an arch peace-maker in kenya.All these was contrary to the facts that Bishop Korir was not a peacemaker as claimed, he owes several if not many apologies to most of the families, individual, and communities in kenya .

Firstly, the insitstutions of the catholic church within the jurisdiction of Eldoret diocese began performing poorly with the inception of the bishopric leadership of Korir two decades ago . Corruption, swindling,tribalism and ethnicity became evidently strong among the members of the catholic community and institutions in Eldoret diocese under the leadership of Korir.During his reign, there has been ruthless mass sacking of people from non-Kalenjin communities working with the catholic insitutions in Eldoret diocese, especially people from Western and Central province of Kenya, and also academic scholarships have been stricly dished out to the kalenjin tribes-men of Korir in stark exclusion of all those others that do not come from the Kalenjin Community - all these happenned in full knowledge of Korir.

The 2007/2008 tribal violence was mostly perpatrated by the kalenjin millitia that worship in the Catholic Church on the fellow Catholic faithfuls from the families of the Kikuyu peasants, planning and execution of violence was done in the specially coded kalenjin langauge of war, of which Korir was very much aware.Korir as a Church and spirutal leader from the offending community had all the charismatic opportunities and machineries to go public and call for peace by pre-empting what his tribes men had planned, instead he kept mum only to come out so late when people and children had already been burned in the church at Kiambaa.His coming out in this situation was pretense to the scale of hypocrisy.Not peace making as often claimed.

I was among the internally displaced persons (IDPs) that sought for temporary home and security at the cathedral grounds in Eldoret during the 2007/2008 post election violence, it was distrubing that the exercise of distribution of foods donated by catholic relief services to the internal refugees was all but an opportunity for the tribesmen of Korir to make money but not to support the internally displaced persons. More saddenning was that those that never belonged to the Catholic faith were not allowed to worship God through christ in the manner of their respective denominations, instead they were all forced to go by the catholic approach-this was very much a miss-timed exercise of proselytizing.The Muslims were neighter allowed to pray in the manner of Islam.A church leader who infringes on the rights of worship of the internally displaced persons under his or her custody can not be be an agent of peace, korir was such a church leader but not an agent of peace.

The whole world knows that Eldoret is the center of tribalism, violation of rights of the street families (by the political leaders, especially the County governement leaders) , extra-judicial-cum-cold blooded killing and harrasement of small traders on the basis of the tribe, this culture of negative ethinicity and tribal brutality began long way ago as a machiavellian initiative of Daniel Moi, this is also the time Korir became the Bishop.This culture has gone on and it is still rive untill today.Surprisingly, there is no any local leader from the church or political fraternity in the region that has ever shown concern about these vices, Bishop Korir Being one of the the leaders.

The truth is that, the people of Kenya have been living under one form of tyranny or another.Their submission and subservience to political authorities has been mistaken and mis-understood by the world to an extent of declaring kenya as an Island of peace.This is wrong, there is no peace in kenya if at all we know what peace is.Fortunately, there have been very many selfless spiritual leaders that have always taken Kenya’s political tyrannies head-on, by boldly telling the brutal governements like that one of Daneil Moi on the face that oppressing the people is against Godliness.Some of such spirutal leaders did this knowing that they are venturing to carry out the acts of self-immolation.Such leaders that the people of Kenya will never forget are Elijah Masinde of Dini ya Msambwa,Alexander Kipsang Muge, Father Anthony Kaiser, Bishop Okulu,Sheikh Balala, and Ndinki Mwana Anzeki-Bishop Cornelius Korir was not one of them, thus those praising him for being a peace-maker are only pretenders,opportunists for cheap snobbery and tribalists that are obviously overtaken by the neurosis that goes with fallacies in the politics driven by mediocrous multiparty democracy and tribal ideology.

By; Alexander Opicho

(From Lodwar,Kenya)