Joseph Obanyi Sagwe is the first Metropolitan Archbishop of Eldoret.
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Joseph Obanyi Sagwe to lead the new archdiocese, bringing four dioceses into the Metropolitan Province of Eldoret.
Pope Leo XIV has established the Eldoret Metropolitan Archdiocese and appointed Joseph Obanyi Sagwe as its first Metropolitan Archbishop. Obanyi, the Bishop of Kakamega, previously served as Apostolic Administrator of Eldoret.
The Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Kenya communicated the decision to Kenyan bishops on Saturday. The new Metropolitan Province of Eldoret comprises the archdiocese and four suffragan dioceses: Lodwar, Kapsabet, Kitale and Kericho.
Obanyi’s appointment follows that of Eldoret Bishop Dominic Kimengich as Coadjutor Archbishop of Mombasa. As metropolitan archbishop, Obanyi will lead pastoral work in the archdiocese and foster communion among the four dioceses.
Eldoret Metropolitan Archdiocese brings together four dioceses
The reorganisation brings together dioceses that previously belonged to two separate metropolitan provinces in Kenya. Lodwar, Kapsabet and Kitale fell under Kisumu, while Kericho belonged to the Metropolitan Province of Nairobi.
The four dioceses now come under Eldoret for regional pastoral coordination and collaboration. Their establishment spans several decades: Lodwar dates to 1968, Kericho to 1995 and Kitale to 1998. Kapsabet, meanwhile, dates to 2025.
Eldoret’s own church jurisdiction began as an apostolic prefecture on June 29, 1953, drawing territory from the Diocese of Kisumu. It became a diocese in October 1959 and subsequently joined the Metropolitan Province of Kisumu as a suffragan see.
Obanyi’s path to episcopal leadership
Born in 1967 in Kebiro, within the Diocese of Kisii, Obanyi began his philosophy studies in 1990. He attended St Augustine Major Seminary in Mabanga until 1991, then studied theology in Nairobi from 1992 to 1995. His theological training took place at St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary.
Obanyi received priestly ordination for the Diocese of Kisii on October 25, 1996. He then served as a parish vicar and diocesan coordinator for pastoral care. Later, he pursued further studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome between 1999 and 2004.
On returning to Kenya in 2004, he became parish priest of St Charles Lwanga Cathedral Parish in Kisii. He later served as the diocese’s vicar general.
Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Kakamega on December 5, 2014, succeeding the late Bishop Philip Sulumeti. Obanyi received episcopal ordination on March 7, 2015, at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega. He also served as Apostolic Administrator of Bungoma between 2018 and 2022.
