Africa-Press – Uganda. The House of Bishops has set up a committee to look into the deferred Namirembe Diocese bishop election process.
The investigation committee, chaired by the Rt Rev Johnson Gakumba, will be inquiring into the nomination process in line with the Provincial Canon 3.7.30 to guide the next course of action by the House of Bishops for the deferred election.
The five-member committee will also interact with any other persons deemed necessary for the investigation, an October 11 letter to all members of the Namirembe Diocese bishop nomination committee reveals.
In his letter to the respective Namirembe Diocese nomination committee members, the Rt Rev Johnson Gakumba cites the background and purpose of the five-member committee where the House of Bishops sitting at the Provincial Fellowship hall on Namirembe Hill arrived at the decision.
“The House of Bishops on October 4 did not consider the nominated candidates for Bishop of Namirembe owing to the complaints received about the manner in which the nomination process was conducted contrary to the Provincial Constitution and Canons,” part of the letter reveals.
The other four members of the investigation committee include Rt Rev Micheal Lubowa, Rt Rev Micheal Esakhan Okwi, Rt Rev Patrick Wakula, and Provincial Chancellor Naboth Muhairwe, the legal advisor to the committee.
The investigation committee will interact with the 13 members who met on September 30 and nominated the names that were forwarded to the House of Bishops for consideration. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.
Shortly before the House of Bishops embarked on the exercise for election of the Bishops of Namirembe Diocese and the East Busoga Bishops respectively on October 4, a petition from a section of the elders at Namirembe Diocese was tabled before the Bishops.
The petition questioned the process that had seen the nomination of Can Moses Banja, the Archdeacon of Luzira Archdeaconry, and Rev Abraham Muyinda who currently serves as the Vicar at Namirembe Cathedral.
The elders cited allegations of corruption, unfairness, and conflict of interest that they claimed to have influenced the nomination of the two candidates forwarded for consideration as replacement for the retiring Bishop of Namirembe Diocese Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira.
Bishop Luwalira will be handing over the office of the bishop when he turns 65 on December 8.
Who qualifies for election?
The persons standing for the office of the diocesan bishop under the Province of the Church of Uganda are selected within the provisions of section 3.7.22 of the Provincial Canons of the Church of Uganda.
They must be ordained priests who have served in pastoral ministry for at least 10 years, must have clocked 45 years of age and holders of a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology, among others.
Namirembe Diocese is one of the 37 Dioceses that constitute the Province of the Church of Uganda. The other diocese that is yet to get its new bishop as a result of unresolved controversy is Luweero Diocese.
The third bishop of Luweero Diocese retired in July 2023. The House of Bishops revoked the election process for Rev Can Godfrey Kasana as the fourth bishop of Luweero. The new nomination process is underway.
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