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The Church That Father Kaiser Built

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Published on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 15:28

Father John Antony Kaiser left an indelible mark on Nyamira. The church he built on a hill in Kebirigo is permanently in the memories of the Gusii.

"He was a very good shepherd, he preached in Kisii language, spoke it fluently and even drove tractors himself fetching sand from Mawego to the construction site," recalled Mr James Ndemo.

Father Kaiser was murdered in mysterious circumstances on August 24, 2000 aged 68.

The body was found in a thicket in Naivasha and the puzzle of his murder has never been satisfactorily resolved.

But his spirit lives on at Kebirigo. The church has since been rebuilt but its design and size has been retained to reflect the original out of respect for Fr Kaiser.

"We have made a documentary recording what the father built and the transformation to the present building for posterity," said Fr Thomas Ongwae Matoke.

Fr Kaiser's church, Our Lady of Mercy, is within a full parish of Kisii Diocese. Its pews can seat at least 1,000 worshippers.

It has a mission hospital, a girls' boarding school and a Sisters convent.

Fr Kaiser left the parish in 1993 when he was transferred to Lolgorian in Kilgoris, Ngong Diocese.

"I remember his last sermon here, it was full of emotions and he left a very sad man but we did not know why he felt so unhappy on his departure," says Albert Ongaga.

In Kilgoris, he preached against female genital mutilation, human rights, and the rights for the Maasai people, stepping on very sensitive and powerful political feet in the process.

"My life has been threatened. If I meet my death, then let it be. But let the people be given their rights," he was quoted in the press few days before he was murdered.

It was Father Masese, his successor at Kebirigo who continued the mission he had began and which lives today.

At Kebirigo, Mr Ongaga recalls that Fr Kaiser was a workaholic who built the church and the convent single-handedly.

"He did everything from masonry to carpentry and tractor driver fetching building materials," he recalls.

Still, Ongaga recalls that he had no time for idlers.

He recalls an incident involving himself when he went to see the Father one morning and he gave him tea.

While he was taking the tea in the house, Fr Kaiser went through the back door to continue construction work on the convention.

Mr Ongaga waited thinking that he would emerge from the house to ask what brought him.

When he discovered the Father was busy on site, he went there to explain what had brought him.

"He asked me, have you taken tea? I took it to mean I should have gone straight to the matter that brought me instead of sitting down to take tea, for he had no patience to waste time," he muses.

Fr Kaiser was buried in Lolgorian, Kilgoris and a shrine was built in Naivasha where his body was found.