Sex scandal rocks Luweero Anglican diocese, three church leaders implicated

The Anglican Church leaders in Luweero Diocese are on the spot over a sex scandal which has left a high ranking priest and a lay leader charged with aggravated defilement.
The diocesan top leadership has remained mute on the steps being undertaken to deal with the allegations.
Police say the priest in charge of one of the Archdeacons allegedly defiled and impregnated a 16-year- old girl and reportedly went into hiding after securing a questionable police bond.

According to Savannah Region Police spokesperson, Mr Paul Kangave, the Police are done with the investigations and a case file no. CRB22/2018 has already been sanctioned for the implicated Rev Canon (name withheld) to appear in Court on charges of aggravated defilement.
Kangave revealed that three defilement cases involving diocesan staff are being handled by Luweero Central Police station.
Two other suspects, who are lay leaders in the diocese are also facing defilement charges.

“The State Attorney has already sanctioned charges of aggravated defilement against the Rev Canon. One of the lay leaders is in police custody while his colleague is still at large,” Kangave told the Daily Monitor on Wednesday.

Efforts to get a comment from the Diocesan Bishop Elidard Nsubuga failed after his known mobile cell phone number remained out of reach on Wednesday. All other top diocesan Clergy also refused to speak about the scandal and kept referring this reporter to the office of the bishop.

There have been conflicting reports from both the family members and the police on the whereabouts of the Rev Canon who was released on a police bond on April 19.
A close relative to the accused priest says he was picked from his home by two police officers last week to go and make a statement at police but the family is yet to know where he is being held.
Police insist the cleric was released on bond.
Two of the defiled girls are sponsored by a charity organisation attached to the Church under the names of Compassion Uganda.
Police records indicate that one of the defiled girls has been under the accused priest’s care while Compassion Uganda footed the bill for the school fees among other basic needs.

The girl was a pupil but failed to proceed with her studies after she got pregnant in 2017. The pregnancy surprised her relatives who raised a red flag after the girl implicated the priest.
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