Kenyan Court Rules Fr. John Kaiser’s Death as Murder

I am not sure what one should make of this story. Father John Kaiser, an American priest working in Kenya, and critical of its government, was found dead next to a busy highway on August 24, 2000. He was found shot in the back of his head by a shotgun found near his body.

Three FBI agents indicated it was suicide. Now, seven years later, a Kenyan court has come to the conclusion that it was murder. Was it murder? Was it suicide? All indications to me seem to indicate murder is the most likely cause of his death. And if it actually were murder, what were the reasons why FBI agents did not come to this conclusion?

Certainly, as this biography indicates, comments he made before his death shows he knew he was in danger, and he didn’t want the government to claim it was suicide. One would think declarations before his death, such as, “I want all to know that if I disappear from the scene, because the bush is vast and hyenas many, that I am not planning any accident, nor, God forbid, any self destruction. Instead, I trust in a good guardian angel and in the action of grace,” would provide any investigator cause for concern. But why, if murder seems the most obvious answer, was the FBI then not willing to accept such a claim?