Bishop-elect Alphonce Baya with other church members [Photo/star.co.ke]
The Mombasa ACK diocese new bishop will know his fate on Friday according to Mombasa senior magistrate Martin Rabera. This comes before his consecration, which was scheduled for Sunday. The ruling on Friday will determine if the consecration will still go on or not.
Bishop-elect Alphonce Baya, who was to replace the outgoing bishop, Bishop Julius Kalu, is believed to have been elected unfairly according to a faction of the clergy in the diocese led by Mombasa Memorial Cathedral administrative secretary George Kuza.
Through their lawyer Wandai Matheka, the clergy told Mombasa senior magistrate Martin Rabera that the outgoing bishop refused to listen to their plea on the formation of the synod before selecting of an electoral college. The lawyer, through an oral submission, argued the formation of the synod was the bone of contention alleging that it influenced the election in favor of the bishop-elect.
Mombasa Memorial Cathedral administrative secretary George Kuza among other church leaders accused the church management of ignoring their plea for a free and fair election. They further noted that the management, through the outgoing bishop refused to form a 14 member’s diocese synod, which could have delivered free and fair elections. Therefore, it is their belief that magistrate Martin will rule this case in their favor come Friday.