FBI reps fail to testify at Kenyan inquest into U.S. priest's death

Published: 2007-03-06

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) -- Three FBI representatives failed to show up to testify at an inquest into the death of Mill Hill Father John Kaiser, a U.S. missionary who died in Kenya in 2000. Mbuthi Gathenji, a lawyer representing the Catholic Church and Father Kaiser's family, said the inquest would close as soon as the FBI representatives testify. He told Catholic News Service March 5 that the officials continued to cancel and give new dates as if they did not value the inquest. The March 5 inquest carried on briefly, but was rescheduled for March 19. Gathenji named the three representatives as Tom Neer, a specialist in behavioral analysis; Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a forensics specialist; and Bill Corbett, who has worked in counterterrorism. Mungai Warui, a lawyer with the Kenyan attorney general's office, said he received notice about the FBI representatives' absence a week before the inquest. He added that the notice said the representatives would not be attending the inquest due to other unforeseeable assignments, but that they would be available mid-March. Father Kaiser, a 67-year-old priest and native of Perham, Minn., had worked in Kenya for 36 years. His advocacy for human rights led to his expulsion from the country in 1999, but the government revoked its decision after an outcry in the Kenyan media and appeals from the country's bishops.

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