Cardinal Otunga: Man set to become Kenya's first saint

Maurice Michael Otunga was a Kenyan Catholic Bishop who served as Nairobi Archbishop from 1971 until when he resigned in 1997. He was elevated to the cardinal position in 1973 by Pope Paul VI.

Born to a tribal paramount chief, (Chief Sudi) Otunga chose not to pursue his father's footsteps nor adhere to his request for him to take up his place. Instead, he chose a path of priesthood upon completing his studies. Otunga was the first Bukusu priest to be ordained on 3rd October 1950.

Though he had just wanted to be an "ordinary priest" Otunga went on to take key leadership positions, including being made the first bishop, first archbishop and then first cardinal in Kenya in swift succession. Otunga, who could be Kenya's first saint sooner than later if the causes of his canonization go through, was born in 1923. His mother had named him Simiyu, a Luhya name for somebody born in the dry and hot season. However, his father immediately changed this name to Otunga, which refers to a staff that supports the lame or old. Chief Sudi must have been prophetic over this name since Otunga went on to be a pillar for many people.

After completing his secondary school education in the 1940s, Otunga was then admitted to Makerere University. However, he refused and instead opted for Seminary. He joined a Roman Catholic Seminary in Kakamega after which he proceeded to Uganda for further seminary studies. He then went to Rome, Italy where he pursued further studies in Theology at Propaganda Fide College.

In Rome, he studied theology at Propaganda Fide college, and was ordained in 1950. He returned to Kenya in 1953, and served as a professor of theology at the Kakamega seminary before being consecrated a bishop on November 17, 1956. At the time, he was the youngest man to achieve that ecclesiastical rank in the Church.

Upon completing his seminary studies in the 1950s, he was ordained as a priest and came back to Kenya. He also served briefly as a Professor of Theology at Kakamega Seminary before he was named Bishop in 1956. At this time, he was the first bishop in Kenya and the youngest to have ever taken such an ecclesiastical position in the church.