Pope Leo elevates Eldoret to archdiocese, names Joseph Obanyi first archbishop

The Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, has created a new Metropolitan Province of Eldoret and appointed Kakamega Bishop Joseph Obanyi Sagwe as its first metropolitan archbishop.

The appointment was communicated through an official notification addressed to the Bishops of Kenya by the Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Kenya.

Eldoret now becomes the fifth such province in Kenya, joining Nairobi, Kisumu, Nyeri and Mombasa.

The hierarchy mirrors the government’s, in that provinces have smaller dioceses under them. Nairobi, for instance, has the Archdiocese of Nairobi as its mainstay and it has under its wings the dioceses in Kitui, Machakos, Nakuru, Ngong, and Wote, plus the Military Ordinariate of Kenya.

Mombasa, equally, has the Archdiocese of Mombasa and oversees the dioceses of Garissa and Malindi. Kisumu, on the other hand, has the archdiocese of Kisumu then oversees the dioceses of Bungoma, Homa Bay, Kakamega, and Kisii. Nyeri has its own archdiocese and under it are the dioceses of Embu, Isiolo, Maralal, Marsabit, Meru, Murang’a, and Nyahururu.

Following the same pattern, the Eldoret province will have a newly-created Archdiocese of Eldoret and be in charge of the dioceses of Lodwar, Kapsabet, Kitale and Kericho.

This will shake up the administrative structures of the church. Before Saturday’s announcement, the dioceses of Lodwar, Kapsabet and Kitale were under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kisumu, while Kericho was overseen by the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nairobi.

Archbishop-elect Obanyi’s appointment follows his service as Apostolic Administrator of Eldoret after the erstwhile Eldoret Bishop, Dominic Kimengich, was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Mombasa.

Bishop Obanyi provided pastoral and administrative leadership to the Diocese of Eldoret during the transition period. He was born in 1967 in Kebirigo, Nyamira County.

According to Elias Makori, his brother who is a journalist, Bishop Obanyi’s journey to the pulpit was inspired by an American missionary, Fr Richard Quinn.

“Fr Quinn was close to the Obanyi family and baptised young Joseph as an infant. Over the years, he became a mentor and a father figure. Fr Quinn inspired Bishop Obanyi to become a priest,” Mr Makori wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

He undertook his philosophical studies at St Augustine Major Seminary, Mabanga, from 1990 to 1991, before proceeding to St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Nairobi, where he studied theology from 1992 to 1995.

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Kisii on October 25, 1996.

He served as Parish Vicar and Diocesan Coordinator for Pastoral Care from 1996 to 1999 following his ordination.

He pursued further studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome from 1999 to 2004, earning a Master’s degree and a Doctorate in Canon law.

He was appointed Parish Priest of St Charles Lwanga Cathedral Parish, Kisii, in 2004 and served as Vicar-General of the Diocese of Kisii from 2005.

Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Kakamega on December 5, 2014, succeeding the late Bishop Philip Sulumeti.

Checkered history

He received episcopal ordination on March 7, 2015 at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega. He served as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Bungoma from 2018 to 2022.

“A faith first nurtured in a Kebirigo home now leads a whole province,” wrote Mr Makori. “May God grant you wisdom, strength and good health, Archbishop, as you shepherd this new province.”

The dioceses that he will oversee have a variegated history.

The Diocese of Lodwar was established in 1968 after being carved out of the Diocese of Eldoret, while Kitale was established in 1998 previously under Eldoret.

The Diocese of Kapsabet was established in 2025, following its separation from the Diocese of Eldoret.

The Diocese of Kericho was established in 1995 from territory belonging to the Diocese of Nakuru and placed under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nairobi.

The Diocese of Eldoret, now an archdiocese, traces its origins to June 29, 1953, when the Apostolic Prefecture of Eldoret was established from territory previously under the Diocese of Kisumu. It was elevated to the status of a diocese on October 13, 1959, and subsequently became a constituent of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kisumu.

The elevation of Eldoret to a metropolitan archdiocese represents an important milestone in the Church’s missionary journey, pastoral growth and the development of local ecclesiastical structures.

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