A Catholic priest in Kenya who publicly denounced the killing of opposition demonstrators by government police has been found dead.
Father Evans Juma Odour, the Presiding Priest of Nyabondo Parish in Kisumu county, western Kenya, was found unconscious with severe wounds to his head, face and hands on 23 October.
Local newspapers report that police took Fr Odour to a local hospital where he is said to have died due to severe head injuries hours later.
The priest is believed to have been tortured by unknown assailants who later left him, severely wounded, at a sugar plantation around 30km from his home. His car was later found burnt out in a separate location.
Kisumu County Police Commander John Kamau said his officers found the priest unconscious and are yet to determine the motive behind his killing.
Fr Oduor’s death is being linked to the election on social media. Kisumu is an opposition stronghold, with its Luo Community supporting the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition led by Raila Odinga.
Reports indicate that Oduor had criticised Kenyatta’s government over recent killing of members of the Luo community during protests at the results of the 8 August general election.
In a recent homily, Fr Odour had urged President Kenyatta to stop killing Luos, which had, according to the Kenya’s Daily Nation, made local news headlines.
Following a call from Odinga to boycott yesterday’s election re-run, all of the 196 polling stations in the Kisumu-Centre constituency were deserted. Voting in Kisumu, along with three other counties, has been deferred until 28 October for security reasons.
Early estimates suggest that just 38.5 per cent of Kenya’s eligible voters cast their ballots in the election re-run, raising fears of fresh instability and potential violence.
PICTURE: A protester throws stones at riot policemen during a protest by opposition supporters against the retention of the election officials they blame for last month's botched elections, in Kisumu, Kenya 2 October
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