Meet CBK Governor's Little Known Priest Brother

Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge addresses a news conference at the Central Bank's buildings on Tuesday, May 28, 2019.
Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge addresses a news conference at the Central Bank's buildings on Tuesday, May 28, 2019.
File

Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge stole the limelight in 2015 during his vetting in the National Assembly when he rejected the trappings of power that come with the position he was being vetted for.

He also shocked the nation when he laid bare the details of his financial and social life, particularly the fact that he did not have a single asset in the country and that at 54, he was not married, owing to his professed faith in the Opus Dei.

While his personal life was a source of intrigue to many, it is not an isolated case as his older brother, Anthony Muheria, also walks the same religious path.

Muheria also attracted significant attention when he was appointed by the Pope to head the Nyeri Archdiocese following the retirement of Father Peter Kairo in April 2017.

A stock photo of bishop Anthony Muheria.
A stock photo of bishop Anthony Muheria.
File

According to The Standard in 2016, Muheria is a University of Nairobi-trained engineer who quit his well-paying job to pursue his second calling, priesthood.

"I studied civil engineering at the University of Nairobi and after my graduation, I went to work as an engineer for years. I was working before I left that job, resigned and went to the seminary to study priesthood. I worked from 1984 up to mid-1989 when I answered my second call," he stated during an interview.

According to the Catholic Herald Magazine in January 2020, Muheria became the first Opus Dei priest in Africa to be named an archbishop, owing to three decades of experience- first as a priest, then as a bishop (of Embu and later Kitui) and now as the leader of the metropolitan archbishop.

Muheria shed light on his role as an Opus Dei, which he described as a life that requires dedication to prayer, work, serious diligence by uplifting people and giving others hope and to live an upright life.

"First, I am a Catholic. Second, I am a Catholic bishop and within that, is what I refer to as ‘a call within a call’ where you have a certain mission that you may require to accomplish.

"In Opus Dei, the mission has always been to try and encourage the laypeople to lead a life in the fullness of Christianity by being in a society where they engage the society, Christianize and empower lay Catholics by assisting the word through living," he stated.

Muheria has been vocal and has appeared in countless television and radio stations to speak his mind on issues ailing the society, including corruption.

Archbishop Anthony Muheria (left) meets Pope Francis during a tour to the Vatican in October 2018.
Archbishop Anthony Muheria (left) meets Pope Francis during a tour to the Vatican in October 2018.
Photo
Vatican News

He has earned the admiration of many in both the political, scholarly, and religious scene.

In an article by distinguished Law scholar Makau Mutua in the Daily Nation on January 5, 2020, he hailed Muheria as the conscience of the Catholic church in the country.

He wrote in an opinion piece that in the current era where many of the churches had lost the plot and started engaging in politics and bowing to the will of politicians, Muheria had taken the central role of telling off the politicians and staying true to his calling.

"The man from Murang’a is an engineer by training and even practised the trade before joining the priesthood. He’s not just a priest – he’s a learned man. I’ve listened to him preach a number of times and I’ve simply been blown away by his vast intellect and rare humility.

"He doesn’t perform when he preaches. He connects, especially with the poor. He speaks their language with such clarity that it’s chilling. He doesn’t – like other clerics – speak in abstract terms about God. No – he connects your suffering to the here and now, and humanises your torment on earth. He speaks of human possibility in prayer," Mutua praised.

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