The Rugged Priest

Bob Nyanja’s The Rugged Priest has definitely ruffled feathers in Nairobi, building its own swirl of controversy as it tells the tale of one of Kenya’s most hotly debated murders.

Directed by Nyanja, the genius behind comedy TV show Redykyulass, The Rugged Priest revisits the 2000 murder of Father

John Kaiser, an American priest from the Mill Hill Missionaries who was based in Kenya for decades. Many believe Kaiser was killed for his involvement in politics.

Collins Simpson, 63, plays Father Kaiser and captures the arrogance and persistence that drove the priest to expose impunity and the secret lives of politicians. While social empowerment emerges as a central theme in the nearly three-hour-long film, Lwanda Jawar, who plays Kaiser’s assistant priest, explores the hush-hush struggle with celibacy that dogs some leaders of the Roman Catholic Church.

We see his daily struggle to stay faithful to his priestly vows after getting romantically involved with a female teacher, who later becomes pregnant. At times, the film’s twists and turns felt a bit overdone, leaving the viewer tangled up in the criss-crossing strands of spirituality, controversy and the need for redemption. But the A-list casting and soundtrack help rescue the storyline. Keen followers of Kenyan politics are sure to be moved by the film.

Duration: 148 mins

Cast: Collins Simpson, Lwanda Jawar,

Serah Ndanu, Regina Re, John Sibi

Okumu and Ainea Ojiambo

Director: Bob Nyanja

Genre: Violence, Family Drama

Catch the movie at Nairobi’s Prestige Plaza and Mombasa’s Nu Metro Cinemas till November. Visit flix.co.ke for screening dates.