Murang'a Catholic priest dies in hotel room in presence of his lover

The death of a Catholic priest on Saturday morning in a hotel room in the Gatanga sub-county is being investigated by police in Murang'a County.

According to Lawrence Njeru, the sub-county police chief for Gatanga, Joseph Kariuki Wanjiru, 43, was spotted with a woman who is believed to be his lover.

After spending the night in the hotel, he became ill the following morning. The 32-year-old woman reportedly belongs to the same church as the priest.

The priest apparently consumed chicken and a small amount of beer on Friday night before retiring.

According to the hotel personnel, he had been a guest there for the preceding two years.

The woman reported the priest's illness and periods of dizziness to the hotel's administration after the meeting.

They rushed him to Kenol Hospital, covered him in a blanket, put him in his car, and when they got there they declared him dead.

The woman then travelled to the Samuru police station with the assistance of numerous hotel staff members, where they told the police of the incident and obtained a statement.

According to Njeru, they found the deceased's partially-wrapped body in the back of the vehicle.

“The body was fresh but had foam coming out of the mouth. We made inquiries and discovered that priests’ bodies cannot be preserved in a normal mortuary so we made arrangements to have it transported to Nairobi, accompanied by our officers."

Njeru did point out that an investigation had been launched to determine the cause of his passing.   

“We interviewed his companion and she told us she had had an affair with the priest for the last six years,” the police boss further noted.