A Catholic priest in Kenya who had been missing for seven days after being kidnapped has been found dead with his throat slit and his body “cut” and buried in a shallow grave.

Police unearthed the maimed body of 43-year-old Father Michael Maingi Kyengo Tuesday on the banks of a seasonal river in Embu, central Kenya.

After burying the priest, his four killers reportedly stole Kyengo’s car and drove it up to Malindi where they withdrew part of his money from a local bank and then drove back to Nairobi.

Not long afterward, officers caught up with the killers as they were driving the priest’s car on Mombasa Highway and after an exchange of fire managed to apprehend two of the attackers.

One of the men, 25-year-old Michael Muthini Mutunga, later took police to the place where they had buried the priest’s body. Detectives on the case said they are looking for the other two suspects in the murder who are still at large.

The head of Special Crimes Prevention Unit, Pius Gitari, said they are following important leads regarding the whereabouts of the missing suspects.

Police are still unclear regarding the motive of the killing. They exhumed the body Wednesday from the banks of the river and are examining it with the aid of a team of experts.

Father Kyengo was last seen driving his car on October 7, the day he was abducted. When the priest did not return to his Thatha parish, fellow priests reported him missing to the police.

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