Queries as Luweero Diocese starts fresh search for bishop

The Church of Uganda is back to the drawing board in the search for a new shepherd that will replace   retiring Luweero Diocese Bishop Elidard Nsubuga who will abdicate the seat come July 9.
This is the third time the search process is being conducted after the first two processes were revoked on technical and alleged moral grounds.
The latest came on June 28 after the House of Bishops nullified the election of Rev Godfrey Kasana.

However, a section of the Anglican community has blamed the mess on the criteria used for the selection of a bishop by the Church of Uganda.
On March 15, the nomination committee that convened at Hot Springs Villa, Kigo in Wakiso District had chosen Rev Abel Sserwanja Merewooma and Canon Godfrey Kasana as the rightful candidates for choice of bishop out of the four people that presented their credentials for vetting.
But a day later, a petition was lodged at the Provincial Secretariat by a group of Christians from Luweero, challenging the eligibility of Rev Sserwanja for election as bishop.

The petitioners alleged that Rev Sserwanja was yet to clock the mandatory 45 years and the 10-year service in priesthood since his ordination as per the guidelines.
The secretariat guided by Archbishop Samuel Kaziimba then nullified Rev Sserwanja’s nomination and asked the nomination committee to come up with new names.
Under new instructions, the committee selected Rev Ibrahim Muyinda, the Vicar of Namirembe Diocese; and Rev Can Godfrey Kasana, the Archdeacon of Ndejje in Luweero Diocese as the new candidates.

When the House of Bishops convened in Kisoro District on April 2, Rev Kasana was elected the fourth Bishop of Luweero Diocese. At the same meeting, the House of Bishops set July 16 as the date for his consecration.
But shortly after the election, a May 5 petition was filed at the Provincial Secretariat, seeking the nullification of Rev Can Kasana’s election.
The petitioners hinted at the alleged incompetence and lack of integrity by the bishop nomination committee, arguing that the bishop-elect’s character was questionable amid allegations of infidelity.

The Provincial Secretariat last week sealed the fate of the bishop-elect but raised many unanswered questions about the election process of new shepherds in the Anglican Church.
Except for the information in the petition, the House of Bishops only talks about the integrity of the Rev Kasana that was misrepresented at both the nomination and election exercise without offering details.
A section of Christians now claim that the controversy over the nomination process has brought shame to the Anglican Church.

“We are not only going to repeat the nomination for the third time but we have suffered ridicule from a section of the members of our own community. The non-Christians now believe that our process of electing a bishop is a joke and can be manipulated,” Mr Robert Ssemanda, a congregant at St Mark’s Cathedral in Luweero Town Council, said in an interview yesterday.
Mr Esau Ssemanda, a congregant at St Stephen’s Church of Uganda, Wobulenzi, added that the House of Bishops should address salient issues in the search process, including the integrity of the nomination committee that the petitioners claim is wanting.
“We should not be surprised when the new names are rejected again. I also foresee the process ending in the Courts of Law if the Church fails to address some of the issues,” he said.
Mr Erasto Kibirango, a legal adviser to Luweero Diocese, said attempts by leaders from different churches to find out facts about the petition against the bishop-elet did not yield fruit.

“We wanted to meet the lead petitioner, Kenneth Kikabi, and find out the facts about his concerns but failed. For two consecutive times, Kikabi did not turn up at the scheduled meetings. We even questioned the motive of the petition after failing to identify the petitioners that claimed were from Luweero Diocese,” he said.
But in an earlier interview, the Diocesan Secretary, Rev Eric Ssebigaju, indicated that the bishop nomination committee is independent and is representative of the different church structures, including the laity, youth, mothers union and fathers union, with set guidelines to inform their decisions.

Shortly after the nullification of the bishop-elect, the retiring bishop called for calm and prayer.
“Let us encourage one another to keep Can Godfrey Kasana and his family in our prayers,” he said on Friday.

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The bishop nomination committee is supposed to search and deliver to the Provincial Secretariat the new eligible candidates by July 31. The House of Bishops will receive fresh nominations on August 1 and conduct the election. The fourth bishop of Luweero Diocese will now be enthroned and consecrated on Sunday August 6  at St Mark’s Cathedral in Luweero Town.