As the Catholic church in Kenya was undertaking a week's activities to mark the first anniversary of the death of Fr John Anthony Kaiser in mysterious circumstances on Friday, 24 August, the Kenya conference of bishops on Monday issued a statement reaffirming its stand that it did not accept that the priest committed suicide. The Bishops called upon the Kenyan government "to re-examine its conscience on matters of public safety and security", describing as "questionable" a government that was unable to protect the lives of its citizens.

The Mill Hill missionary priest was found dead, with a gunshot wound to his head, at Morendat on the Naivasha-Nairobi road on 24 August 2000, in what the Church believes to have been a murder incident, though security forces in Kenya and the US have deemed it to have been suicide. The priest's death was but "the latest in a series of cleric and human rights activists who have died in mysterious circumstances, having clashed with government officials over their involvement in the promotion and protection of human rights," they Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Kenya and the Kenya Human Rights Network stated on 9 August.

To keep alive the Christian agenda of justice and peace, as well as the human rights cause that the late Fr Kaiser lived for, the Church has planned a public symposium on Thursday, 23 August, to focus on the FBI report and what Kenyans think of it; a memorial celebration on Saturday, 25 August, at the site where his body was found near Naivasha, north of Nairobi; and commemoration services countrywide - for Fr Kaiser and all those who have died in the quest for justice - on Sunday, 26 August. Besides these activities, there is an ongoing public postcard campaign targeting Attorney-General Amos Wako in an effort to have an inquest into Fr Kaiser's death. [see also: http://www.johnkaiser.net/]