PHILIP ANYOLO
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 18th, 1956 |
| GENDER | Male |
| OCCUPATION | Catholic Priest |
Biography
The Ordinary of the Archdiocese is His Grace Philip Arnold Subira Anyolo, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Nairobi.
Anyolo is the second born in a family of ten children of the late Mzee Paul Anyolo and Mama Dina Nekesa.
Education
He attended Kakamwe primary school, Tongaren and later joined Mother of Apostles Minor Seminary – Eldoret.
He later joined St. Augustine Major Seminary – Mabanga, for philosophy before joining St. Thomas Aquinas –in Nairobi for theological studies.
Philip Anyolo Career
In 1982, the then Bishop of Eldoret, Rt. Rev. John Njenga ordained him as deacon for the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret and priest on October 15, 1983.
His first appointment as a priest of Eldoret was as the Bishop’s Secretary where he served for two and a half years.
During this period, he assisted in the Cathedral and in other parishes.
In 1987, he left for Austria for further studies. He completed his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology and returned to his diocese where he continued with his role as the Bishop ‘s Secretary.
He also worked as Chaplain of Moi University and a visiting lecturer at St. Matthias Mulumba Major Seminary.
On December 6, 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed Philip Anyolo as Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kericho.
He was consecrated as the first bishop of the Kericho diocese on February 4, 1996.
Anyolo was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Homabay on February 20, 2002, Archbishop after the resignation of Rt. Rev. Linus Okok Okwach.
He was subsequently, as the second Bishop of Homabay in March 2003 and installed on May 23 the same year.
He was later appointed as the Archbishop of Kisumu on November 15, 2018, and installed on January 12 the same year.
Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Philip Anyolo as Archbishop of Nairobi on October 28,2021.
He was installed as the Archbishop of Nairobi on 20th Nov. 2021.
He succeeded His Eminence John Cardinal Njue who retired in January the same year upon attaining the official retirement age.
Networth
His net worth is not in public domain.
He has however served in the Catholic Church in different capacities since 1982.
Rejecting Ruto’s Car Gift
In March 2019, Anyolo rejected a car gift presented by President William Ruto during his installation as Kisumu Diocese Archbishop.
The issue created a political debate with then opposition leader Raila Odinga claiming that the car was returned after Pope Francis intervened.
Raila said Bishop Anyolo complied with the orders, alleging that the car was bought from the proceeds of corruption.
“True to his instruction, the car was returned because it was acquired from proceeds of corruption…Public funds are being looted daily yet poor Kenyans are suffering. Every day, the prices of commodities are rising while graft perpetrators, who are known to the public, run to churches with stolen money,” Raila said.
Ruto responded to these claims stating that Ksh4 million car gift was bought by Christian leaders after a request by the Chairperson of Catholic Members of Parliament.
“The master of deceit as always is spewing desperate lies. The car gift was bought by Christian leaders including UK and myself at the request of the chair of Catholic MPs. Understandably Empowering the church offends magicians and the evil spirits they worship. Shetani ashindwe!” Ruto wrote on X.
On November 18, Bishop Anyolo declined donations from President William Ruto and Governor Johnson Sakaja towards Soweto Catholic Church in Nairobi’s Kayole area.
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