- Feb 5, 2002
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Venezuelan media reported Jan. 2 that the body of Fr. Josiah K’Okal, IMC, had been found in a wooded area in Guara, Monagas state, near the state border with Delta Amacuro, where K’Okal lived.
K’Okal was born in Kenya, but had lived in Venezuela as a missionary since 1997.
The priest had been one of the loudest voices in defense of the human rights of indigenous communities in the region.
While his death was ruled a suicide, local activists, media, and Catholics aren’t satisfied. They’ve called an investigation into his death, charging that foul play was involved, and noting that K’Okal was high-profile defender of the Warao people, a local indigenous group that has been suffering attacks by the human trafficking wing of Venezuela’s organized crime network.
Fr. K’Okal was known by local indigenous people in northeastern Venezuela as “Bare Mekoro” — the “Black Father.”
And the death of Bare Mekoro, local activists told The Pillar, is covered by a cloud of suspicion.
Continued below.
www.pillarcatholic.com
K’Okal was born in Kenya, but had lived in Venezuela as a missionary since 1997.
The priest had been one of the loudest voices in defense of the human rights of indigenous communities in the region.
While his death was ruled a suicide, local activists, media, and Catholics aren’t satisfied. They’ve called an investigation into his death, charging that foul play was involved, and noting that K’Okal was high-profile defender of the Warao people, a local indigenous group that has been suffering attacks by the human trafficking wing of Venezuela’s organized crime network.
Fr. K’Okal was known by local indigenous people in northeastern Venezuela as “Bare Mekoro” — the “Black Father.”
And the death of Bare Mekoro, local activists told The Pillar, is covered by a cloud of suspicion.
Continued below.
In Venezuela, activists cry foul after reported priest suicide
Was the death of Fr. Josiah K’Okal a suicide, or something more sinister?
www.pillarcatholic.com
