Bishop who built bridges of harmony

In the aftermath of the 2007/08 post-election violence, a well-known TV host put a question to five panelists in the studio: Why are we Kenyans inviting mediators such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Madam Graca Machel and Kofi Annan to come and solve our problems? Where are our home-grown diplomats and statesmen to guide us in resolving internal disputes?

None of the panelists named a local prophetic voice, messenger of peace or leader they deemed equal to the task.

It seemed that respected political and religious leaders capable of negotiating to bring about reconciliation and healing belonged to a by-gone era.

VIOLENCE

Upon receiving the news of the death of Bishop Cornelius Korir of Eldoret Catholic Diocese a few days ago, the words of Jesus Christ resonated in my mind: “A prophet is not without honour except in his country and among his people and in his own house (Mk 6:4).”

It suddenly occurred to me that we may have a prophet or two in our midst, not known to us.

During his tenure as the Bishop of Eldoret for some 25 years, the late prelate has engaged in an apostolate whose motif was peace-building.

The cycle of violence experienced almost every five years during elections reached its crescendo during the 2007 poll, when we seemed quite serious about “removing foreigners from our parcel of land”.

Bishop Korir has been a builder of bridges and a breaker of walls of division among us.

FOOTBALLER

He had a natural disposition and good preparation for this difficult task. I first met him in the mid-1970s when we were training for priesthood at St Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Lang’ata, Nairobi.

Cornelius Korir was mild-mannered, firm in his beliefs and respectful of the opinions of others.

He mixed easily with people from different ethnic groups. His football coach, Fr Elias Mwangi, of the Archdiocese of Nairobi, recalls that Korir was a star footballer who played at what was then called half-back position.

He was reputed for his speed and stability on the pitch. His appearance in the team’s first 11, alongside Linus Okok, later the Bishop of Homa Bay, also promised spectators some good football.

VACANT

Besides soccer, Korir the athlete was a medium and long-distance runner. He and Fr Wilhelm Sambu of the Diocese of Kericho organised a team that ran a 16km circuit round the seminary five days a week before the morning prayers at 7am.

After his ordination to the priesthood by Bishop Ndingi Mwana a’Nzeki in 1982, Fr Korir served in several parishes, including Molo and Nakuru.

I met Fr Korir as he was completing his graduate studies in theology at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Ireland, in the late 1980s. He said he was looking forward to returning home and resuming his pastoral work in the parish. But this was not to be.

No sooner had he arrived home than he was appointed the Bishop of Eldoret, a position that had fallen vacant when Bishop John Njenga was transferred to head the Mombasa Diocese.

ERUPT

Though there was joy because a son of the soil had been appointed head of the diocese, this was really a baptism of fire for the new bishop. The build-up to the 1992 General Election saw political temperatures rise and erupt into ethnic clashes in his diocese, as well as in the neighbouring Nakuru Diocese.

After the 2007/8 post-election violence, the prelate organised one of the biggest efforts to accommodate and feed internally displaced persons on the grounds of the Eldoret Cathedral. He earned the support of local and international partners to sustain this huge and challenging undertaking.

For his peace-building efforts, he won several awards, including the Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS) and the Milele Lifetime Award from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

To be able to continue promoting cohesion, integration and peace, Bishop Korir founded the Upendo FM Radio for the North Rift region.

Bishop Cornelius Korir has died at a critical time when the country badly needs his peace-building experience and skills most in resolving the raging conflict arising from the August 8 elections.

The best tribute we can pay him is to address the serious national integration challenges that are facing this country.

Fare thee well, the messenger of peace!

Fr Njoroge, the Catholic chaplain at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, is a professor of development studies and ethics. [email protected]