Make Nyerere saint, Museveni urges Church

KAMPALA. President Museveni has insisted on his push for church to consecrate former Tanzanian President and freedom fighter, Julius Kambarage Nyerere as a saint.

The president told congregants who turned up for the Julius Kambarage Nyerere day celebrations at Namugongo on Friday that the fallen president was a devoted catholic, the reason he should be a saint.

“We all know how devoted Mzee Nyerere was to church. He was a patriot, a true Pan African and a great leader, why not call him a saint? He brought us together always as African and that makes him special,” he said.

Julius Kambarage Nyerere Day was declared on June 1, 2009 during a Holy mass celebrated at Namugongo Catholic Shrine.

Rev Fr Deogratius Ssonko, the Rector of the Namugongo Parish, proposed that Day would be for praying for the process of beatification and canonisation. He was seconded by His Grace Dr Cyprian Lwanga archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese who led the holy mass.

During the mass on Friday, President Museveni pledged to attend mass on this day every year because Mwalimu Nyerere had a big role to play in his struggle to enter power.

“I will attend this day every year. Mzee Nyerere supported us while we struggled to enter power. I think it was very risky for him because other people would have come out to oppose him, that is what I think he was a great leader,” he said.

Mr Museveni had made the same call as he addressed a delegation from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and other African states last year when he said, “…Mwalimu Nyerere is the greatest African I have met in my life…”

On May 13, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI declared Nyerere a servant of God. This was the first step of canonising him into sainthood.
While explaining the hard question why Mwalimu Nyerere has not yet been made a saint, archbishop of Kampala Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga said at the moment, Mzee Nyerere is a servant of God, and a number of procedures have to be followed to be declared a saint.

“For anyone to be made a saint, you must have performed miracles. We are now at the point of doing a research through his bishop to see which miracles he performed. We know that Nyerere influenced some miracles and we are trying to verify them before the beatification can happen and finally the canonisation into sainthood,” Archbishop Lwanga said.

At the same event, archbishop Lwanga thanked president Museveni for declaring the martyrs day a public holiday and dubbed him one of Africa’s best presidents, despite the bickering the two have had in the recent past.

“We thank you your excellence for the decision to make martyr’s day a public holiday and we are thankful for the great leader you have been for Africa. Mwalimu Nyerere was a martyr too for not only Tanzania but for the catholic church and the rest of the world, this day is a great mark for us, we need to celebrate it,” Archbishop Lwanga said.

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