Pope Leo XIV has appointed the Right Reverend Simon Peter Kamomoe as the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wote, Makueni County.
Kamomoe has been serving as the Apostolic Administrator of the diocese since March 2026.
The announcement, officially made public on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, was communicated by the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya, Bert Van Megen.
“Pope Leo XIV has appointed the Right Reverend Simon Peter Kamomoe, presently Auxiliary Bishop and Apostolic Administrator of Wote, as Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wote,” he said.
Bishop Simon Peter Kamomoe Appointed Bishop of Wote Diocese
Bishop Kamomoe took over the administration of the diocese after the illness and subsequent resignation of the first Bishop of Wote, the Right Reverend Paul Kariuki Njiru.
He had earlier been appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Wote in July 2025.
The Catholic Diocese of Wote was created in July 2021 from the Catholic Diocese of Machakos to better serve the Catholic faithful in Makueni County.
The diocese was officially erected on July 22, 2023, by the late Pope Francis.
It became a suffragan diocese within the Ecclesiastical Province of Nairobi.
At its creation, the Pope Francis appointed Bishop Paul Kariuki Njiru as the first bishop of the new diocese.
Bishop Njiru, previously Bishop of Embu, was later installed to lead the fledgling diocese.
Profile of Simon Peter Kamomoe
Before his transfer to Wote, Bishop Kamomoe served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi. He was consecrated bishop on April 6, 2024.
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Bishop Peter Kamomoe was born on 26 November 1962 in Gatundu, district of Kiambu, in the metropolitan archdiocese of Nairobi.
He attended Saint Mary’s Major Seminary in Molo before studying philosophy at Saint Augustine’s Senior Seminary in Mabanga and theology at Saint Matthias Mulumba Senior Seminary in Tindinyo.
He was ordained a priest for the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nairobi on June 18, 1994, and served in several pastoral and leadership roles within the church.
His assignments included serving as an assistant at Queen of Apostles Junior Seminary from 1994 to 1995, followed by work in parishes such as Thigio, Mang’u, Ndundu, and Saint Matia Mulumba in Thika between 1995 and 1998.
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He later served as the parish priest of Our Lady of Fatima in Kiriko (1998–1999) and Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Parish in Kiambu (1999–2008).
Since 2008, Bishop Kamomoe served as the administrator of the Minor Basilica of the Holy Family in Nairobi and chaplain of the diocesan Family Pastoral Office.
On February 13, 2024, Bishop Kamomoe was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Nairobi. He was consecrated on April 6, 2024.
He also served as vicar forane and member of the College of Consultors during his ministry in the Nairobi Archdiocese.
