EU presidency to question Kenya on killing of religious

THE Government has asked its Dutch counterpart, which holds the EU presidency, to raise the killing of Brother Larry Timmons with the Kenyan authorities.

Information about the case, and the Government's concern about the circumstances of Brother Timmons's death, have been passed on to the Dutch government, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said blast night. This would give the investigation added weight, he said.

Brother Timmons, whose funeral takes place today, was killed last Wednesday by a bullet fired by the police, who were intervening in a robbery at the school where he worked in Lare, central Kenya. The local Catholic Church has linked the killing to allegations Brother Timmons made the day before his death concerning bribery and discrimination among local officials.

The EU has recently stepped up its monitoring of the political situation in Kenya, where an election is due later this year. Observers have reported an increase in reports of human rights abuses.

Ireland has not had a diplomatic representation in Kenya since the mid 1980s, when the embassy in Nairobi was closed in budget cutbacks.

Brother Timmons is being buried at the Franciscan monastery in Clara, Co Offaly, this morning. He is survived by his parents, Thomas and Nellie Timmons of Delvin, Co Westmeath, six sisters and two brothers.

Three Irish religious have been expelled by the Kenyan government over the past five years. In each case, the expulsion followed corruption allegations or human rights work.