Father Fidelis Nzuki remembers vividly the details of that morning when shots rang out at the Makueni Catholic church parish compound like it was only yesterday. After all, he barely escaped with his life and, five years later, lives with physical pain and scars.

He says the events of that early morning in March 2010 are indelibly imprinted on his mind — as is the mystery of why a fellow priest and long-time friend would open fire on him.

Fr John Wambua Makewa — who was this week set free by the courts from the charge of attempted murder — has a different script. There were intruders in the small hours of the morning and it must have been that they fired at his fellow priest.

As matters stand, the mystery remains. But Fr Nzuki says the details in his mind are unmistakable.

“It is absolutely clear to me that I was shot by Fr Makewa. I spoke with him and he told me to die. I’m ready to go to the grave with that truth because it is the truth,” says Fr Nzuki. “I forgave him a long time ago even though he did not seek forgiveness from me.”

Fr Nzuki says the matter should never have gone to court but that his colleague refused to accept responsibility for the shooting.

“We should not have gone to court but we went that way because he would not accept his fault. The Bible challenges us to forgive others even when they have not sought forgiveness,” he told Lifestyle.

 Fr Nzuki says he still experiences pain from that attack and has to regularly attend physiotherapy sessions at the Mater Hospital in Nairobi. “My legs are still numb though I’m able to walk.”

 He, however, says that he will not launch a case seeking compensation from Fr Makewa for the injuries.

“Daima dawama (forever and ever) I will not accept to launch civil proceedings. That was my stand all along,” he says.

But at the same time, Fr Nzuki believes the state should have handled the case better.

DIVINE JUSTICE

“There are a lot of flaws with the judgment. Some words that were not said by me were picked up from nowhere and placed in the judgment. I feel that the whole thing is a mess. I just feel that the State has completely and totally failed to protect me. I remain with my scars and wait for divine justice. The court was unfair and unbalanced and ignored all the witnesses who supported my argument,” he says.

And in his mind, one thing is clear: there were no intruders on the morning he was shot though he says that he was startled from his sleep by a loud bang.

“Please tell the truth. There were no thieves on that night. Father Makewa shot me. I saw him, I spoke to him. I was shot at 5.30 in the morning and I survived three bullets. I forgive the man. My prayer is that he changes and that he is able to accept reconciliation. I know that it can only be based on the truth. Despite that he remains forgiven. I’m praying for him and he should also pray for me,” he says.

Fr Nzuki says that Fr Makewa informed him that there were intruders and together they were to confront them. He says that an armed Fr Makewa asked him to crawl to the door and open it. As he reached for the lock, a shot hit his hand.

“I told Fr Makewa he had shot me and he said no, it was the intruders. He fired again and that bullet went through my thigh. Prior to that, we had never differed. I do not know why he shot me. Only he knows,” says Fr Nzuki.

FRIENDS TURNED FOES

To their parishioners, this turn of events came as a complete shock since the two had been friends for long. How their friendship turned into violence intrigued those who sat in the courtroom that day.

Fr Makewa had told the court that his friendship with Fr Nzuki had started about 10 years before the shooting. He said he had helped the priest construct a house at his rural home.

The 61-year-old priest also said he had helped to pay school fees for a number of Fr Nzuki’s siblings and even helped several of them secure jobs.

On the fateful early morning, four priests – Fr Makewa, Fr Nzuki, Fr Michael Mutuku, and Fr Boniface Kioko and seminarian Boniface Mutua – were in the living room of the parish house where Fr Makewa lived.

There was general merriment as the five washed down their supper with an energy drink. They talked and laughed well past midnight but a power blackout forced them to retire for the night.

While Fr Makewa was the priest in charge of the Makueni Parish, Fr Nzuki was a student at the University of Nairobi. During weekends, the younger man would drive to Makueni, where Fr Makewa would host him. On Sunday, Fr Makewa would assign him to lead Mass in one of the many churches in the parish, after which Fr Nzuki would drive back to Nairobi with pocket money from his mentor.

So what happened on that fateful morning? In his evidence in court, Fr Makewa said he heard a commotion outside the residence and got up to confront the raiders.

“I woke up all the people in the house and told them to be ready to confront the gangsters,” he said. “It was dark outside as there was no electricity at the time.” The priest said that after raising the alarm, his instincts told him that the intruders had gained access to the house and that was when he decided to open fire.

Little did he know, he testified,  that the person he was firing at was Fr Nzuki, whom he seriously injured.

But in his testimony, Fr Nzuki disputed the account, saying Fr Makewa knew who he was shooting at.

“He shot me and wished me dead,” he told the court. “I asked him why he wanted me dead.”

LICENSED TO SHOOT

In his ruling, Magistrate JW Gachimu of Tawa law courts said the motive of the shooting could not be established, but he had every reason to believe the testimony of Fr Nzuki, which he heavily relied upon in convicting Fr Makewa.

“I dismiss the defence’s argument. Although the motive of the shooting has not emerged, evidence before me clearly shows that the accused wanted to harm the complainant,” he ruled.

Mr Gachimu gave the accused seven years but Fr Makewa asked for bail pending appeal. The magistrate allowed the appeal and released Fr Makewa on a Sh5 million bail.

Fr Makewa was out of prison after four days, awaiting the appeal which was concluded last week.

He said he was first licensed to own a gun in 1990 by then Commissioner of Police Philip Kilonzo, who has since died.

“He helped me to secure my first firearm. I was involved in a lot of development projects as a priest in Katangi Parish in Machakos County and people with bad intentions believed that I was handling a lot of money,” he said. The priest said he had previously had to use his gun twice after gangsters raided the parish.

During the first incident, he had to shoot in the air to scare away gangsters who were attempting to gain entry into a convent next to his parish house in 2009.

In the second incident, he shot and injured one intruder after gangsters forced their way into his compound.

Following his acquittal on Wednesday by the Makueni Senior Resident Magistrate after a retrial, many parishioners and well-wishers called to congratulate him.

“It was not easy,” he told Lifestyle at a restaurant in Wote town, shaking his head in relief.

He says that following the accusations, he has had to hang his head in shame while in front of his former colleagues and friends.

Our interview was interrupted several times by residents who came to wish him well.

“Yesterday (Wednesday), I received more than 500 calls as I drove from here to Kangundo,” he told five men who pulled seats around our table. He lives in the family home in Kangundo, Machakos County.

Among his well-wishers was Peter Mwanthi, a politician, who Fr Makewa had visited in prison.

“When I was done with my prison term, I contemplated switching from Protestant to Catholic,” said Mr Mwanthi,  narrating how he had been touched by the visit.

Mr Mwanthi’s testimony on Fr Makewa’s service is repeated by many in Katangi, Mbitini and Makueni parishes.

While serving in Katangi in Machakos County, Fr Makewa invited then President Daniel arap Moi to the area, and in 2004 hosted President Mwai Kibaki in Makueni.

Mr Kibaki commissioned an electricity project in the area.

Fr Makewa had been relieved of his priestly duties, and now hopes to resume his work and continue serving in the church. However, the decision on whether he returns lies with the Bishop of Machakos Diocese.

SHODDY INVESTIGATION

At the court on Wednesday, Mr Richard Koech, the Senior Resident Magistrate, said the court lacked sufficient evidence to support the charges.

“I do find the accused not guilty as charged and proceed to acquit him,” said Mr Koech. 

The priest, who was hitherto calm, listening as Mr Koech read out the judgment, shed tears of joy.

His case started at the Makueni court in 2010 and was transferred to a court  in Machakos County, before returning to the Makueni court.

If he had not secured the Sh5 million bond the court required, Mr Makewa would have remained in jail. 

In his judgment, Mr Koech accused the police of reporting that they did not find any cartridges at Mr Makewa’s compound although witnesses had seen the priest shoot outside the Parish house.

“They must have conducted a shoddy search outside,” he said while making his ruling, referring to the police investigating the incident.

However, he lauded the conduct of the accused towards the complainant.

On the fateful morning, Fr Makewa arranged for Fr Nzuki to be taken to Makueni County Referral Hospital and advised that he be taken to Mater Hospital in Nairobi for specialised treatment. The priest would later keep visiting the patient.

“The accused’s conduct is more consistent with his innocence as opposed to his guilt,” said the magistrate.

But that did not mean that the complainant was not shot. In fact, the magistrate said Catholic sisters terrified by the gunshots were forced to converge in one room and later in the chapel.

But although it is undisputed that Fr Makewa fired his rifle around the time of the incident, the evidence available could not enable the court to verify who had shot his colleague in the absence of a cartridge.

“This court appreciates that the complainant was seriously injured and his life was in grave danger and expresses its sympathies for the complainant,” said Mr Koech.

Mr Fred Namisi, Fr Makewa’s lawyer, faulted the earlier judgment and urged authorities to hand back his client’s rifle.

“Justice has finally been served,” Mr Namisi said before his address was drowned by jubilant supporters outside the courtroom.