Double joy: Consecration of Luweero bishop on Palm Sunday

There will be double celebrations at St Mark Cathedral in Luweero Town today as the Anglican community toasts not just to Palm Sunday but also the fourth bishop consecration.

For Christians, Palm Sunday marks the day when the faithful celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem.

But the Anglicans in Luweero Diocese will also be celebrating the consecration and enthronement of their fourth bishop.

When Eridard Kironde Nsubuga, the third bishop of Luweero Diocese, clocked the mandatory 65-year retirement age in July 2023, he was supposed to hand over office to a successor bishop elected by the House of bishops. All had gone well when the House of Bishops in April 2023 elected Rev Can Godfrey Kasana to replace the retiring bishop of the Diocese later in July 2023.

The repeated petitions that rocked the Church leadership against the personality of the bishop elect, however, caused an inquiry into the allegations. The House of Bishops sitting on June 28, 2023, revoked the election of Rev Kasana as bishop elect, citing the lack of integrity for the person to serve as a Diocesan Bishop.

The announcement came less than a week to the consecration ceremony.

The church was thrown into panic and repeated protests. A section of the faithful that believed that Rev Kasana had not been given a fair hearing protested. Vehemently.

The matters were not helped when the dissenting faithful ran to the High Court to challenge the Church decision to revoke the consecration of Rev Kasana.

But the High Court in Kampala in November 2023 dismissed the case filed by a section of Christians in Luweero against the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Dr Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu.

Court maintained that the House of Bishops, guided by the Provincial canons and guidelines, had the authority to elect and consecrate the Diocesan Bishop.

The Court had no powers to instruct the Church in matters on how a bishop should be elected and consecrated.

Ven Can Wilson Kisekka was nominated as the bishop elect for Luweero Diocese at the House of Bishops sitting held at Lweza Conference and Training Centre on March 6, 2024. He will be consecrated today on Palm Sunday.