.- The Vatican has announced that Bishop Luigi Locati, Apostolic vicar of Isiolo (Kenya) was shot dead as he returned home from a parish center last night. Both local police and the Vatican say they are still trying to find out why the 76-year old bishop--an Italian--was killed.
Bishop Locati was named head of the Diocese of Zica nine years ago and had presented his resignation two years ago having reached the official retirement age. He was still awaiting a successor.
Reports say the prelate died about an hour and a half after being shot in the northern town of Isiolo, about 155 miles from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
The Bishop had survived two previous attacks, including a home-made bomb placed at his residence less than a year ago.
Kenyan police detained on Friday two men for questioning over the murder of the veteran Italian missionary.The two were held and 18 rounds of ammunition recovered during investigations into Thursday evening's murder of Bishop Locati, senior police officer Robert Kipkemei Kitur said.
Locati's death followed a week of clan violence in the lawless Marsabit district, just south of the Ethiopian border, in which at least 75 people were killed. But Kenyan churchman Martin Kivuva said he did not believe Locati was targeted as a result of the Marsabit bloodshed."Everything is possible, but people think the murder of Monsignor Locati was not connected with that violence," he told MISNA, an Italian missionary news wire.
