Africa-Press – Uganda. The Bishop of Madi and West Nile Diocese has warned priests against blessing child marriages.
In a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, Bishop Charles Collins Andaku said the practice is ungodly and the church should not be used as a conduit for such an illegality.
“All religious leaders should oppose and engage our congregations to discourage the practice of forced marriages that involve teenage girls. Never shall any one of us (priests) preside over such unlawful and ungodly acts,” he added.
Bishop Andaku said the year-long Covid-19 induced lockdown that led to closure of schools exacerbated child marriages and teenage pregnancies in the sub-region.
He said he would continue to issue pastoral letters to priests and parents to offer moral responsibility and responsiveness to abuse of children within families.
“As religious leaders, let us rectify commonly held religious and cultural beliefs which may be used to justify or cover up gender-based violence (GBV). The Judiciary, police and other law enforcers should firmly hold perpetrators of GBV cases responsible for their actions without compromise,” he said.
Last month, the Uganda Women Network programme officer for Arua, Ms Alice Munduru, said they registered 778 cases of teenage pregnancies in a survey that was conducted from March to December last year, which she said is alarming.
Madi and West Nile Diocese, supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has for the past one year been engaged in campaigns against early and forced marriage.
Affirming the bishop’s ban on presiding over child marriages, one of the priests in the diocese, Rev Victoria Adiru, said: “We have to put our faith into action by helping and giving hope to the downtrodden like the children who are often abused. We are not only called to talk at pulpits but also act.”
Rev Adiru said they would continue to meet families to talk about the dangers of having child mothers.
The provincial health coordinator, Mr Stephen Angala, said: “We want to have congregation that is responsible and healthy. We should all reject child marriage and GBV in homes because it ruins the family life.”
The police officer-in-charge of child and family protection in West Nile, Mr Jimmy Baiga, said from March to December last year, they registered 171 cases of defilement.
“We even arrested some parents who negotiating bride price for their teenage girls. Four of the cases are being handled at police. The problem is some of the community members who report such cases do not make follow-up. This makes some of those cases to be dropped and perpetrators walk out freely because courts always rely on evidence (to prosecute them),” he said.
