Une communauté kenyane espère que le meurtre d’un prêtre mettra fin à des décennies de violence

Fr. Allois chose to serve among the poor residents terrorized by bandits. In the cries of locals for peace, his voice resounded throughout the community, calling the criminals to conversion. 

The Priest’s blood, Bishop Dominic Kimengich of Eldoret said, will be “a seed for new life” in the community set back by decades of cattle rustling and killings.

“We believe that there is a reason behind everything that happens. It could be that God is talking to us. God might have wanted to take this young man for the sake of peace in Kerio Valley,” Bishop Kimengich said on Sunday, May 25 during Holy Mass that was held in honor of the slain Priest.

He added, “Fr. Allois’ blood which was spilt innocently will not go for nothing. Just as Jesus spilt his blood to save us, we believe that the blood of all those who give their lives becomes the seed for new life.”

“I truly believe that Fr. Allois didn’t die for nothing,” the Local Ordinary of Eldoret told locals who gathered at Nerkwo Parish grounds in Eldoret.

Bishop Kimengich recalled that Fr. Allois expressed the desire to be a missionary shortly after he ordained him in November 2022, eventually setting off to start a parish in a place where few would be ready to go to evangelize.

“I remember that a year after he was ordained a Priest, Fr. Allois came to me requesting to become a missionary. At the time, our focus was on the Turkana people (served by the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar). Later, when we wanted to start the Parish of Tot in Kerio Valley, I approached him, requesting that he be the one to start the Parish,” the Bishop narrated.

He continued in reference to Fr. Allois, “He had other engagements here. He was in charge of schools. I reminded him of his desire to become a missionary. I said, ‘I would like you to go and start the new Parish of Tot’. He readily said yes.”

Bishop Kimengich hailed the courage of Fr. Allois who he said went to Tot wholeheartedly and “ready to give his life to the new parish.”

Expressing grief at the passing of Fr. Allois as a personal loss, the Kenyan Bishop said, “What has happened has affected me in a very special way because it is I who ordained Father Allois. Spiritually, this is my son.”

Many have linked the killing of Fr. Allois to banditry, with reports indicating that detectives came searching for the Priest on two consecutive days before his death.

According to a report by The Standard, a local publication, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kenya came to Fr. Allois’ residence in Tot on May 16, knocked on the door and inquired the whereabouts of the Priest.

St. Mathias Mulumba Church Catechist Richard Ruto told The Standard that after the detectives were informed that Fr. Allois was away on his evangelism mission, they retreated at a local hotel adjacent to the home, stayed there for a while then left.

The detectives would reappear the following day, May 17, making inquiries about the Priest’s whereabouts, and left immediately they were told that he was away.

According to the Catechist, the visits by the detectives amid the ongoing operation to weed out suspected criminals, caused the slain Priest to be perceived by armed individuals as “a spy”, hence his killing.

Meanwhile, Bishop Kimengich has called for action to bring Fr. Allois’ killers to justice.

In his address to residents of Nerkwo, the Kenyan Church leader expressed gratitude to the government officials’ readiness to address the insecurity challenges in Kerio Valley.

“May be it has taken the life of Father Allois so that we can think seriously about solving the issue of the lack of peace in Kerio Valley,” he said, and added, “It could be that it had become normal for children, women, and young people to be killed in Kerio Valley. So, this was a wakeup call to all of us.

“There is no need for words now,” the Bishop said, and demanded, “Can we see action?”

He said that from his vast experience from working in other bandit-infested areas, it was the first time he was witnessing the murder of a Catholic Priest.

“Before coming to Eldoret I worked in Turkana where we had similar challenges. But never has a Priest been killed in all this chaos, he said, and added, “There was a time when 40 people were killed on the Ethiopian side, but never was a Priest killed. The people never go on the mission to kill the Priest. Yet it was the Priests who went to collect the bodies and came to bury them.”

According to the Bishop of Eldoret, the security challenge in Elgeyo Marakwet “continues to be a big, terrible thing.”

In his appeal to authorities to work harder towards ending insecurity in the region, he said, “This is a very serious thing which must be looked into. Our region has become very dangerous. It has become Somalia (the African country infested by Al Shahab militants).”

The Bishop expressed concern that moving forward, pastoral agents will be hesitant to evangelize the troubled region.

“If a Priest says that they are not feeling safe, I can’t force them to go there. I will tell them to leave the place immediately. If the Sisters say that they are not feeling safe, I have to tell them to come out,” he said.

“Whoever did this has done great injustice to our county, and to our people. It is something terrible, but we leave everything to God,” Bishop Kimengich said, and gave the assurance that the Catholic Church will not continue preaching peace in Elgeyo Marakwet.

“We won’t give up, we will continue looking for peace,” he said.

The Bishop also relayed the closeness of the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya, Archbishop Hubertus Van Megen , who he said had been saddened by the death of the young Priest. “He said that justice has to be done for Father Allois,” Bishop Kimengich said, relaying the message of the Holy Father’s representative in the East African country.

« Il se peut qu'il ait fallu la mort du père Allois pour que nous puissions envisager sérieusement de résoudre le problème de l'absence de paix dans la vallée de Kerio », a-t-il déclaré, avant d'ajouter : »Il se peut qu'il soit devenu normal que des enfants, des femmes et des jeunes soient tués dans la vallée de Kerio. C'est donc un signal d'alarme pour chacun d'entre nous.

« Il n'y a pas besoin de mots maintenant », a dit l'évêque, et il a demandé : »Pouvons-nous voir des actions ?

Il a déclaré que, d'après sa vaste expérience dans d'autres régions infestées de bandits, c'était la première fois qu'il assistait à l'assassinat d'un prêtre catholique.

« Avant de venir à Eldoret, j'ai travaillé à Turkana, où nous avons connu des problèmes similaires. Mais jamais un prêtre n'a été tué dans tout ce chaos », a-t-il déclaré, avant d'ajouter : »À une époque, 40 personnes ont été tuées du côté éthiopien, mais jamais un prêtre n'a été tué. Les gens ne partent jamais en mission pour tuer le prêtre. Pourtant, ce sont les prêtres qui sont allés chercher les corps et qui sont venus les enterrer. »

Selon l'évêque d'Eldoret, le problème de la sécurité à Elgeyo Marakwet « continue d'être une chose énorme et terrible ».

Il a appelé les autorités à redoubler d'efforts pour mettre fin à l'insécurité dans la région : « C'est une chose très sérieuse qui doit être examinée. Notre région est devenue très dangereuse. Elle est devenue la Somalie (le pays africain infesté par les militants d'Al Shahab) ».

L'évêque s'est dit préoccupé par le fait qu'à l'avenir, les agents pastoraux hésiteront à évangéliser cette région troublée.

« Si un prêtre dit qu'il ne se sent pas en sécurité, je ne peux pas le forcer à aller là-bas. Je leur dirai de quitter l'endroit immédiatement. Si les sœurs disent qu'elles ne se sentent pas en sécurité, je dois leur dire de sortir », a-t-il déclaré.

« Celui qui a fait cela a commis une grande injustice à l'égard de notre comté et de notre peuple. C'est quelque chose de terrible, mais nous laissons tout à Dieu », a déclaré l'évêque Kimengich, qui a assuré que l'Église catholique ne continuerait pas à prêcher la paix à Elgeyo Marakwet.

« Nous n'abandonnerons pas, nous continuerons à chercher la paix », a-t-il déclaré.

L'évêque a également relayé la proximité du nonce apostolique au Kenya, Mgr Hubertus Van Megen , qui, selon lui, a été attristé par la mort du jeune prêtre. « Il a dit que justice devait être faite pour le père Allois », a déclaré Mgr Kimengich, relayant le message du représentant du Saint-Père dans le pays d'Afrique de l'Est.