The Catholic Church in Kenya is mourning retired bishop Philip Sulumeti, the man who led the newly created Kakamega diocese from its inception in 1987 to the time he retired in 2014.
Before becoming Kakamega bishop, he had been heading the Kisumu diocese that was later split to yield Kakamega.
Bishop Joseph Obanyi, who succeeded Bishop Sulumeti as the Kakamega diocese head, said in a statement that Rev Sulumeti died at 11pm on Sunday evening while receiving treatment at the Nairobi Hospital.
“I request you to keep him in prayers, remembering him in the Masses, as we begin making arrangements for his burial which shall be communicated in due course,” said Bishop Obanyi.
Rev Sulumeti was ordained as a priest in Kisumu in 1966 at the age of 28. When he was 34, he was appointed the auxiliary bishop of Kisumu and at the same time the titular bishop of Urci—a settlement in Spain.
He was ordained as a bishop on August 20, 1972, serving as the titular bishop of Urci until December 1976 when he was appointed the bishop of Kisumu. The Kisumu diocese had been in existence since 1953 and was elevated to an archdiocese in 1990.
On February 28, 1978, Rev Sulumeti was appointed the first bishop of the Diocese of Kakamega, a position he held until his retirement on December 5, 2014. According to official Catholic records, the Kakamega diocese measures 3,531 square kilometres.
His 36 years in charge of Kakamega saw him post many achievements, some that were captured by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi in 2022 as he congratulated the prelate while celebrating 50 years since becoming a bishop.
Bishop Emeritus Philip Sulumeti formerly of the Catholic Diocese of Kakamega.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
“In his close to four decades of service in Kakamega, Bishop Sulumeti was instrumental in the development of social amenities in healthcare such as St Mary’s Mumias Mission Hospital and St Elizabeth Mukumu Hospital. In education, Kakamega boasts of many Catholic-sponsored schools and especially girls’ schools,” posted Mr Mudavadi.
“Many may not remember that Bishop Sulumeti was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the 2010 Constitution. He was the chair of the Bishop Sulumeti Consensus Committee, whose report paved the way for agreement at the National Constitutional Conference in 2004,” stated Mr Mudadavi.
A pivotal vote at the Bomas of Kenya on the report ensured compromise and presented the delegates with a way out of the impasse over the contentious proposals over a new Constitution.
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), through its official online publication, The Catholic Mirror, celebrated Bishop Sulumeti’s achievements in a post on Monday morning.
Humility and fatherly approach
“During his tenure, Bishop Sulumeti championed education, evangelisation, and social development, establishing numerous parishes, schools, and health institutions across Kakamega and its environs. His leadership helped strengthen the Catholic faith in western Kenya, nurturing vocations to priesthood and religious life,” it said.
“Known for his humility and fatherly approach, Bishop Sulumeti played a vital role within the KCCB, where he served in various capacities, including as vice chairman and head of several commissions. He was deeply committed to promoting justice, peace, and dialogue, particularly during Kenya’s politically turbulent years,” added the publication.
A transcript capturing Bishop Sulumeti’s presentation to the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission captures some of his beliefs.
During a June 4, 2003 plenary session, he raised some of the issues he would have wanted addressed in the new Constitution. Presenting as Delegate 546, he started by proposing that people in public service should not hold more than one job.
“About public servants, I would like to propose one man, one job; one woman, one job. So, there should be no polygamy in jobs for public servants. For example, doctors in public hospitals, in the evening they have private practice and thus the patients suffer. So, one man should have one job and one woman one job,” he said.
“In regard to prisons, I am very concerned about minors. I have been visiting the prisons, and I have heard the plight of the young girls and boys who have committed petty crimes and are put together in the same cell with hardened criminals. So, this boy who is 12, 16 or 17 is put in the same cell with a murderer and thus that young boy or girl will not be corrected. So, please let us have prisons for minors and prisons for adults,” he added.
“Number two; you know we have this scourge of HIV/Aids. Please, I am not advocating for something new, if a spouse has been taken to jail, I am proposing that there should be arrangements in that prison that the spouse who is at home can come and visit the spouse in jail. In other words, I am addressing conjugal rights and in that way, we can stop the spread of Aids that is going on in prisons,” Bishop Sulumeti further submitted.
Following Rev Sulumeti's death, tributes have been trickling in from various leaders, among them former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who hailed him as “a man of God who spoke the truth and lived by it”.
“Rt Rev Philip Sulumeti served God and humanity in great faith following the footsteps of Jesus Christ,” Mr Gachagua wrote in a social media post.
