Why would this priest want to kill his colleague?
http://www.nation.co.ke/Features/DN2/Why+would+this+priest+want+to+kill+his+colleague/-/957860/1441412/-/besoxuz/-/index.html
By BOB ODALO
Posted Sunday, July 1 2012 at 18:06
That question rang in the minds of many a fortnight ago, soon after a magistrate in Makueni County sentenced Catholic priest Fr John Wambua Makewa to seven years in prison for attempting to kill fellow priest Fidelis Nzuki.
But even as the priest was bundled into a police Land Rover and locked up at the Machakos Prison, the motive of the attack, which occurred in the wee hours of 10 September, 2010 at the Makueni Catholic Parish abbey, remains a puzzle.
In the same week, another priest from Kitui County, Fr John Mutua Munyoki, was handed a 15-year jail term for raping a Form Three schoolgirl whom he had given a lift in his official car.
On the day the judgment was read at the Tawa Law Courts, Fr Makewa wore a face of disbelief as resident magistrate J.W. Gachimu gave him a custodial sentence, even though the priest had maintained that he was innocent throughout the trial.
In the absence of a motive, the trial magistrate relied on evidence from Fr Nzuki, who testified that Makewa, whom he described as his mentor, had shot and seriously wounded him.
How the friendship between the two had turned into violence intrigued many of those who sat quietly in the courtroom.
Fr Makewa himself told the court that his friendship with Fr Nzuki had started about 10 years ago, soon after Fr Nzuki was ordained.
During that friendship, he said he had helped the priest to construct a house at his parents’ home.
Fr Makewa said he had also helped to pay school fees for a number of Fr Nzuki’s siblings and even helped several of them to secure jobs.
On the fateful night, four priests — Fr Makewa, Fr Nzuki, Fr Michael Mutuku, and Fr Boniface Kioko — and seminarian Boniface Mutua were in the living room of the Makueni Parish house where Fr Makewa lived.
There was general merriment as the five washed down their supper with Red Bull, a popular energy drink.
They talked and laughed well past midnight, when a power blackout forced them to retire to their bedrooms, which were adjacent to each other.
While Fr Makewa was the priest in charge of the Makueni Parish, Fr Nzuki was a student at the University of Nairobi. During weekends, he would drive to Makueni, where Fr Makewa would host him.
On Sunday Fr Makewa would assign him to lead Mass in one of the many churches in the parish, after which Fr Nzuki would drive back to Nairobi with pocket money from his mentor.
So what happened on that fateful night? In his evidence, Fr Makewa said he saw gangsters outside his residence and got up to confront them.
“I woke up all the people in the house and told them to be ready to confront the gangsters,” he argued. “It was dark outside and there was no electricity at the time.”
The priest said that after raising the alarm, his instincts told him that the intruders had gained access to the house, and that was when he decided to open fire.
Little did he know that the person he was firing at was Fr Nzuki, whom he seriously injured, he said. But Fr Nzuki disputed the account, saying Fr Makewa knew whom he was shooting at.
“He shot me and wished me dead,” he told the court. “I asked him why he wanted me dead.”
In his ruling, magistrate Gachimu said the motive of the shooting could not be established, but he had every reason to believe the testimony of Fr Nzuki, which he heavily relied upon in convicting Fr Makewa.
“I dismiss the defence’s argument. Although the motive of the shooting has not emerged, evidence before me clearly shows that the accused wanted to harm the complainant,” Mr Gachimu said.
Before sentencing Fr Makewa, Mr Gachimu allowed mitigation, which was done by Fr Makewa’s lawyer Emmanuel Mwangambo.
The lawyer said Fr Makewa was a first offender and maintained that he did not mean to harm his best friend, Fr Nzuki. He called for a non-custodial sentence.
The maximum sentence for manslaughter is life in prison. Mr Gachimu gave the accused a lenient sentence of seven years against which Fr Makewa requested bail pending appeal. The magistrate allowed the appeal and released Fr Makewa on a Sh5 million bail.
Fr Makewa was out
of prison after four days. Soon after his release, he told DN2 he was
first licensed to own a gun in 1990.
The priest said he was twice attacked by gangsters at the Katangi Parish. Many faithful who attended the hearings said the two priests should have reconciled in private instead of washing their dirty linen in court.
“It is not good for the church,” said Cecilia Mueni of Makueni. “This is a big blot on the reputation of our religious leaders.”
Sources who did not wish to be named last week told DN2 that an attempt had been made at the highest level of the church leadership in the diocese to reconcile the two priests, but it failed.
The shooting was not the first to involve Fr Makewa in his former workplace. When armed gangsters tried to gain entry into a convent next to his parish house in 2009, Fr Makewa came to the rescue of the nuns by firing in the air, forcing the thugs to flee before hurting anybody.
And during his term in Katangi, he shot and injure armed gangsters who had forced their way into his compound.
The case has certainly injured Fr Makewa’s career. Has been on suspension for the past two years, he no longer puts on his priestly garb, and is not allowed to celebrate Mass.
He lives at his parents’ home in Misyani, Kangundo, in Machakos County. His appeal will be heard on Thursday, July 5.
