Consolata International University in Kenya Lauded for Facilitating Realization of “the dream and desire of many”

Recounting his encounter with the late Italian-born Priest, the Kenyan Catholic Bishop said that Fr. Bertaina had shared the dream to “establish an institution that could one day stand as a university.”

The late Fr. Bertaina, who was serving as the administrator, was “killed and strangled” in the Vice Chancellor’s office, Bishop Joya recalled about his late confrere, and added, “He worked tirelessly to ensure that all the structures you see here were built through his effort.”

Two individuals – Felix Savayi Kwesha, a former student of the Institute, and Mabel Kavati, a house help – were convicted in October 2010 and were sentenced to death for the murder. A third accused, Zablon Okonda Asitiba, was acquitted for lack of evidence.

During the sentencing of the duo, the judge reportedly noted the brutality of the murder and emphasized that their actions did not merit any mercy. The IMC members publicly forgave the two convicts but supported the legal process to ensure justice.

Reports indicate that the Italian Priest died of suffocation after two attackers tied him up and stuffed his mouth with papers. The attackers also reportedly vandalized his office and fled with an unknown amount of money.

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In his August 29 homily, Bishop Joya recounted the circumstances surrounding the death of his confrere, saying that he was killed “not by any outsider, but by one of the Seminarians who studied in this institution from one of the Congregations.”

“When he (the Seminarian) was dismissed from his Congregation ... he often returned here to seek support from this father, who assisted him in many ways, financially and in whatever needs he had,” the Kenyan Bishop recalled, adding, “Yet he was the one who planned the killing of the father in his office.”

He continued, “And among those who were called immediately to help with that incident was I, when I was the Vice-Superior of the Consolata Missionaries in Kenya and Uganda.”

“Fr. Bertina had been my Rector in the Consolata Seminary. Then in 2003, I was assigned to be Rector of the same Seminary while he was in charge of this institute,” Bishop Joya further recalled in his homily at CIU, which began  in 1970 with the recruitment of African candidates for formation as Religious Missionary Priests.

The IMC member said that the late Priest shared “many stories and his desires regarding this institution—to separate it from the Seminary, because many Congregations had entrusted their students here.”

“We are here to celebrate the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which has been the dream of many and the desire of many people who have passed through this institution,” Bishop Joya said.

He added, “I wish to recognize those who have made this dream a reality. These men, with their teams, have made this dream come true.”

“When the Superior called me and insisted that I should come here, I think this is the story you wanted to hear. But all of this has been through the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of God for us all,” the IMC Bishop said on August 29.

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