And the Cardinal wept...

The immediate reactions of John Njue upon his appointment as Cardinal are baffling.

“My transfer to Nairobi and subsequent elevation are difficult decisions but I have accepted them”

“I never expected all these”

“The news was like a bombshell”

“Since the news came, it has been the toughest time of my life but I have surrendered myself”

He termed the events a mixture of emotions. And he wept.

For a man earmarked for such an important office to be engaging in such poor self-effacing antics is demeaning. After taking over from Ndingi a’Nzeki as Archbishop of Nairobi, where did he think he’s priesthood journey that started in 1973 was headed to? Nyeri? Did the priest probably feel that ministering to souls outside of Nyeri would be “the toughest time of my life” and that he could only “surrender” himself? Are these not the markings of an ethnic chauvinist?

And no sooner had his tears dried than he threw himself smack in the middle of partisan politics declaring that “Majimbo is a recipe for chaos”. Of course this is the prevailing wisdom amongst the many PNU supporters presently in Nyeri. Probably the Holy Father could just not resist one last shout for the home boys before taking up his seat in Nairobi. But surely, was he unable to make an original or helpful statement regarding federalism? Would it hurt him to be quiet until such a time that he’d gathered his personal philosophy to merge rationally with the requirements of his elevated calling? Perhaps he’s not yet aware what those requirements are.

Ndingi couldn’t get past Archbishop, certainly not because he’d been forgotten. Who could ignore his noise? The man was unnecessarily talkative, commenting on all and anything, picking spats in all directions and turning himself into a celeb. He’s still at it even in his retirement. We’ll never know in our lifetime why Vatican skipped the man but my guess is that they did not quite take him seriously.