IEBC Machakos County Registered Voters (Constituency, Wards)

The Fearless Archbishop

-       Retired Archbishop Raphael S. Ndingi Mwana a’Nzeki’s journey to priesthood can best be summed up as a journey of trials and tribulations that saw him attend seminaries run by no-nonsense fathers in Kenya and Tanzania. Ndingi Persevered through the hardships but not by simply conforming. He would occasionally challenge the authority whenever he felt that those in administration were abit too hard on the seminarians.  It is this ability to stand up to authority which actually marked Ndingi out and probably defines his life in the service of the church.

Ndingi joined the Church when the country was still under colonial rule and the church hierarchy was largely white. Racial tension between white priests and their black counterparts formed part of his early experiences. For Ndingi and the early African priests the challenge of starting life as celibate men was both personal and communal. Their communities frowned on the idea of unmarried adult men yet the church, even up to now demands selfless service to God.

The ethnic clashes of Rift valley in 1992 will fondly be remembered as Ndingi’s trying moments. “It reached a point when he couldn’t take it anymore and he broke down wailing like a wounded animal ,“ as one of his close friends would later tell. Over 2,000 residents had been killed. Ndingi could not stand to see people suffer and ending their pain became his life’s mission. He took on their oppressors without flinching. He went full throttle and never shied away from confronting the provincial administration Police which he accused of fuelling the clashes at the command of the political class, the high and mighty of the Kanu regime . 

Ndingi was born on 25^th December 1931 in Mwala Machakos, Kenya. He was ordained in 1961 in Machakos. He served for 38 years where he started as a Parish priest, Bishop of Machakos and Nakuru before he was elevated to the rank of Archbishop. He is a retired Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi. Ndingi was the most prominent Roman Catholic clergyman in post – independence Kenya’s long struggle for democracy in the 1980’s and 1990’s. What interested the archbishop most in his service was the protection of the weak and vulnerable, the poor and the marginalized whom he wanted to see access the country’s resources equitably. 

 Ndingi played a crucial yet insufficiently appreciated role in some of the most momentous events in Kenya, including fighting for social justice, fighting for the African traditional values to be respected by the church's highest authorities in Rome and helping in the growth of education in the country.

Though weak in body but strong in Faith, Bishop Ndingi routinely has visitors at the retired Clergy house situated at Queen of Apostles Catholic Church - Thika Road, most of them catholic faithfuls and neighbors. Visiting hours are strictly between 10am and lunch hour. During the visits, this time is mostly dedicated to prayers and soothing hymns. Occasionally during such visits, Ndingi is usually jolted into faint motion as he struggles to connect with his guests. Sometimes a feeble smile flashes across his face. He has lost the ability to talk but can still afford a mumble, pausing to utter phrases like “thank you” “I know you” ”I am happy”.

Ndingi is assigned a sister who cleans him and ensures the Archbishop is well fed as he can no longer do any task for himself.

 By Kelvin Mutwiwa