Indigenous tribespeople in Venezuela are demanding a “credible” investigation into the death of a Kenyan missionary who championed their rights.
The Warao people expressed concerns about the death of Fr Josiah Asa K’Okal, of the Consolata Missionaries, after an official investigation concluded that he took his own life
On 2 January, the body of the 54-year-old missionary was found hanging from a tree in Monagas state, east Venezuela. He was last seen at 11am on New Year’s Day, after departing from the congregation’s house by bicycle two hours earlier. He left his identity papers and telephone at home, and did not say where he was going.
A piece of rope matching that hanging round Fr K’Okoal’s neck was later found at his address, according to criminal investigators.
Douglas Rico, director of the government’s Corps for Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations, alleged that friends of the priest had said he was going through a depressive phase.
Warao people at the funeral of Fr Josiah K’Okal IMC.
However, a coalition of 139 NGOs said the Warao peoples had asked for Fr K’Okal’s death to be investigated again.
Representatives of the NGOs said in a letter: “As a group of social and community activists and defenders of human rights in Venezuela we hereby publicly demand that the authorities, especially the public prosecutor’s office, should conduct a credible, quick and transparent investigation into the death of the missionary and defender of indigenous rights, Josiah K’Okoal.”
They also requested “an institutional response” to Fr K’Okoal’s repeated reports of human rights violations against aboriginal communities.
“In recent months, Fr K’Okoal had repeatedly denounced the trafficking of indigenous peoples and their poor nutrition,” the letter said.
Since 2006, Fr K’Okal had accompanied the indigenous peoples of eastern Venezuela, especially the Warao, whose language he spoke fluently. A marathon runner in his youth, Fr K’Okal was ordained in August 1997 after completing theological studies in London.
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