Opus Dei is a translation from Latin which means “the Work of God.” This is precisely what the Catholic of Nyeri Archbishop Anthony Muheria is doing to put William Ruto’s administration to task, particularly on matters of corruption, education, healthcare, and economic stability of the country. Opus Dei exhorts its members and all lay Catholics to “find God in daily life” and to perform their work as a service to society and as an offering to God, which contributes to social progress to a “path to holiness”.
Like the spirituality of the Apostles of Jesus Institute where I, Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko AJ belongs, where each member is to strive to imitate the life of Jesus Christ who was rejected by “High Priests” for being the voice of the voiceless in the society, Opus Dei’s beliefs is advocacy for humanity and justice.
Opus Dei was founded by the priest Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer in Spain in 1928 during the Spanish Civil War. These motivated members to consolidate their presence in the country and strengthened their grip on its cultural, political, and professional circles. Similarly, Opus Dei started in Kenya in 1958 by the direct impulse of St. Josemaría Escrivá during the Mau Mau uprising, a violent conflict in Kenya from 1952 to 1960. At the core of the Mau Mau movement was access to basic rights: higher wages, increased educational opportunities, return of alienated lands, and African self-determination.
Born on 27 May 1963, in Kaburugi Parish, in the Diocese of Muranga, Anthony Muheria was influenced by Opus De spirituality between 1979 and 1980 when he attended Strathmore College in Nairobi for his form five and six studies.
Even when he joined University of Nairobi, graduating in 1984, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, Opus Dei spirituality was still haunting him. He worked as a civil engineer for five years and then joined Opus Dei. He was ordained priest on 13 June 1993, where he served as a Priest of Opus Dei, until 30 October 2003 when he was appointed Bishop of Embu.
During the Kenya political turmoil in June/July 2024, he advocated for the appointment and parliamentary vetting of cabinet secretaries with “integrity” to minimize “political wheeler dealing.” After Embu where he worked for four years, Muheria was appointed the Bishop of Kitui where he served until 2017. He was then appointed the archbishop of Nyeri diocese where he serves to date. He succeeded the long-serving Nyeri Archbishop Peter Kairo.
Muheria served as a member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) from February 2011 until April 2011 when he resigned on personal grounds. He also chaired the Interfaith Covid Council for the reopening of places of worship. Muheria has been attacked by politicians allied to Ruto that he lacks the moral authority to criticize the government of Ruto. Opus Dei has been the subject of controversy, including accusations of secrecy, cultlike practices, and political ambitions.
Opus Dei requires dedication to prayer, work, serious diligence by uplifting people and giving others hope so that people can realise their role in the world and seek to live an upright life. That is what Muheria have been trying to do all his life since he became a priest in the Opus Dei.
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