Africa-Press – Uganda. The Anglican Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo has started constructing an amphitheatre for accommodating huge numbers of pilgrims in the near future.
The amphitheater, circular in design, will mostly have rows of seats, a very important person (VIP) section and terraces, among other unique facilities.
“Building will cost about Shs13.1 billion and we are hoping that one year from now, the arena will be complete,” Mr Enock Rukundo, the Uganda Martyrs museum administrator, said yesterday.The amphitheatre will bear a few similarities to the re-developed Uganda Martyrs Catholic Shrine.
Funding plan
For now, Mr Rukundo says, the Anglican Martyrs Shrine is sourcing funds from the government that is contributing 30 per cent while the Church of Uganda (CoU) will raise the remaining 70 per cent.Once the construction of the shrine is complete, plans will proceed towards erecting a church at the site that will cost about Shs3.8 billion.
“The idea of turning this Anglican site into a world class faith-based tourism centre was initiated by the late former Church of Uganda Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyooyo. It was his dream,” Mr Rukundo said.
Archbishop Nkoyooyo died in 2018 from pneumonia after previously undergoing treatment of cancer of the throat.Currently, preparations at the Anglican shrine are ongoing ahead of the scientific Martyrs Day celebrations tomorrow.
“We shall not be hosting pilgrims because of the strict standard operating procedures put in place to control the spread of Covid-19,” Mr Rukundo said.
There are only 200 invited guests for the prayers, including President Museveni, who is chief guest. The main preacher of the day will be Namirembe Diocese Bishop Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira. The service will start at 10am and will be relayed live on different channels, including radio and television.
