Creation of New Kenyan Catholic Diocese “a blessing” To the People: Pioneer Bishop

“This is a homage; we are paying homage to our first Christians who really embraced faith,” Bishop Lelei said in the interview on the sidelines of the SECAM Assembly taking place in Kigali, Rwanda.

He called for collaboration with both the members of the Clergy and the Laity in building the diocese, saying, “We have many things to put up, but then I cannot work alone.”

Bishop John Kiplimo Lelei at the SECAM Plenary Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda. Credit: ACI Africa

“I have Priests, I have sisters, and then I have the Christians. So, I’m just appealing for unity, that we work together in the spirit of synodality to make our diocese great,” Bishop Lelei said, and added, “we pray to God that with His grace and gifts that He has already given this part of the country, that the message of the word of God will be well planted.”

The newly established Kapsabet Diocese becomes the eighth Suffragan Diocese of the Metropolitan See of Kisumu alongside Bungoma, Eldoret, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kisii, Kitale, and Lodwar.

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Credit: ACI Africa

According to the Vatican July 2025 statistics, the newly erected Kenyan Diocese that measures 2,888.4 km² starts off with 313,655 Catholic population from 885,711 total population, representing 35.4 percent of the total population of the territory of the Episcopal See.

Set to have St. Peter’s Catholic Parish in the township of Kapsabet as its Cathedral, the newly erected Diocese that covers the territory of Kenya’s Nandi County has 36 Parishes, 52 Priests, 44 of them Diocesan and eight members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL).

Bishop John Kiplimo Lelei at the SECAM Plenary Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda. Credit: ACI Africa

In the August 1 interview with ACI Africa, Bishop Lelei said that the people of God in the region were prepared for the new Diocese because, “for a long time, they had longed for a diocese, and it came as good news.”

From the look of things, the Kenyan Catholic Bishop said that the people of God in the new Diocese “seem to be ready” to run the new Diocese.

Bishop John Kiplimo Lelei at the SECAM Plenary Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda. Credit: ACI Africa

“Why do I say this? Because they can buy cars for parishes, they can erect rectories in the parishes, they can erect churches in the parishes, and so I’m sure they will be able to sustain the Diocese,” he said.

He explained the pointers that are normally considered to gauge the people’s ability, including the personnel — if they have the personnel, the faith — how strong is the faith, the aspects he said the people in the new Diocese are well conversant with.

Bishop John Kiplimo Lelei at the SECAM Plenary Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda. Credit: ACI Africa

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Bishop Lelei further explained, “And then that one is if they can run the diocese on their own, because if left on their own, are they able to maintain the Diocese, maintain the Bishop, the Priest? And I think they meet the bill.”

He acknowledged with appreciation the number of Priests the new Diocese is starting with, which he said “is a good number, in their religious vocations”. He said that the number of seminarians is divided by the Eldoret Diocese, then Kapsabet Diocese will have more compared to Eldoret.

ACI Africa was founded in 2019. We provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, giving particular emphasis to the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See, to any person with access to the internet. ACI Africa is proud to offer free access to its news items to Catholic dioceses, parishes, and websites, in order to increase awareness of the activities of the universal Church and to foster a sense of Catholic thought and culture in the life of every Catholic.