Africa-Press – Uganda. Church of Uganda Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba has said the drive to mobilise funds to redeem Church House from Equity Bank loan has so far raised Shs1b, two months after it was launched.
Archbishop Kaziimba had planned three months to collect the required money but was set off track by the second wave of Covid-19 lockdown.
He also announced yesterday the extension of the fundraising for another three months.
“We have so far collected Shs1b, but I know we would be far ahead. The day we launched the campaign is the same day the President announced a lockdown, of course, for good intentions of managing covid19. We have now extended the collections by the next three months,” Kaziimba told Sunday Monitor.
He was speaking on Saturday at his residence at Namirembe Cathedral, the seat of the Anglican faith, soon after receiving a donation of Shs20m from Christians of Samia-Bugwe South in Bukedi Diocese.
The faithful included former Principal Judge James Ogoola, and Makerere University vice chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe.
Kaziimba said they had planned to collect Shs60,000 from each of the one million people, but some people were raising accountability issues from the former leaders.
The Church is entangled in a debt of Shs60b with Equity Bank that was used for construction of Church House in the heart of Kampala city.
Kaziimba, who is the 9th Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, was elected exactly two years on August 28, 2019.
“I am grateful that exactly two years when I was elected archbishop, the same day on behalf of the Church, I’m receiving the Gift of Love from Bukedi Diocese. They have visited with Shs20m. We call upon all Ugandans to donate towards this drive,” Archbishop Kaziimba said.
Kaziimba launched the Gift of Love fundraising campaign on June 6, but the same evening president announced lockdown.
Justice Ogoola, who is the deputy chancellor of Bukedi Diocese, said their visit to the archibishop residence was twofold.
“To assist our archbishop to meet in a small way the big burden of the enormous loan that needs to be paid. The archbishop seems to have been anointed to settle the enormous debt of billions. As Bukedi, we came with a small amount of Shs20m and a glass of water,” Ogoola said.
“We came and pray and ask God to provide him with understanding, vision and wisdom to meet the extraordinary challenges,” he added.
Archbishop Kaziimba is looking at paying off the debt so that rent fees from the commercial house can assist the Church sustain itself and support its schools and hospitals.
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