How catholic cardinals handled state church crisis

Last Easter sermons at Rubaga Catholic Cathedral were mixed with personal security concerns. The Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, during the mass told the congregation that his life was in danger.
The clergy said security agents were trailing him and giving President Museveni wrong information to malign him. Since then, the Archbishop and the President have met to defuse the seemingly tension between the parties.
President Museveni has since donated Shs500m to Wekembe, a savings and credit cooperative organisation (Sacco), founded by Kampala Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga.

The clergy’s Easter testimony attracted a wide public attention. While some said it was far too fetched, others said it could be true and that the Archbishop should have used other channels to convey his concern to the authorities.
This was not the first time a similar situation happened to a Catholic archbishop in Uganda. Tension between the Church and State first happened way back when the Catholic missionaries had first arrived and were still laying foundations for the church in Uganda.
It has since then happened at least three times. And in all occasions, the matter has been settled by dialogue between the President and the Church.

King Mwanga versus Cardinal Levinhac
The earliest confrontation between the Church leaders and the State was about 134 years ago.
In 1884, the Catholic Church leadership in Uganda was threatened by the Buganda’s brutal king Mwanga. The rift was caused by the missionaries.

According to Mwanga, they were radicalising his subjects to believe in Christianity than Lubaale, the ancient Buganda religion. Kabaka Mwanga ordered the missionaries to immediately return back home or face death.
First, they thought Mwanga was simply issuing threats. But after they saw that he serious to his word, in 1884, the priests under the leadership of Cardinal Levinhac having failed to convince Mwanga, and realised that death was very eminent, they made a tactical retreat to Sese islands in Lake Victoria.

However, this was after Mwanga refused to listen to the clergies. When they returned after two years, Mwanga had been cornered after the massacre of the Uganda martyrs.
He was at his weakest moment – he even converted to Catholicism and was baptised by the very Catholics he earlier wanted dead.

Kabaka Muteesa humiliates Archbishop Kiwanuka
In 1960, there was a reincarnation of 1884 situation by Mwanga’s grandson, Kabaka Edward Muteesa of Buganda. At the time, Uganda was fast advancing towards independence. But traditionalist Baganda were worried of the existence of Kabaka’s position in the post-independence Uganda.
They agitated for Buganda’s secession from Uganda so that Kabaka Edward Muteesa would remain their king and also be their President. But whoever dared to advise Mengo not involve the Kabaka in national politics or to secede met the wrath of Mengo radical traditionalists.

One of the Ugandans who took the heaviest heap of assault was Archbishop Joseph Kiwanuka of Kampala Archdiocese.
After the September 1961 Lancaster Conference which sat in Britain to make the Uganda independence Constitution, it was obvious that Muteesa would be the President of Uganda.
This, Archbishop Kiwanuka being a far sighted leader that he was and knew the repercussions better than most Baganda, vehemently opposed the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) and Kabaka Yekka (KY) project.

Direct confrontation
Kiwanuka’s opposition to the scheme brought him into direct confrontation with Kabaka Muteesa, who was the “president-in-waiting” after the amendment of the constitution and creation of the Office of the President after Uganda attained independence.

In fact, Muteesa with the backing of Mengo diehards, conducted himself as the “President” of Uganda in waiting especially after the 1960 Obote, Grace Ibingira and Abu Mayanja to Lukiiko and later to Bamunanika Palace where they met Kabaka Muteesa and a deal for him to be future President of Uganda was sealed under the gentleman’s agreement pending the right moment to formalise it.

In mid-November 1961, Archbishop Kiwanuka penned his famous Pastoral letter attacking Mengo and its fanatics. This infuriated Muteesa, who ordered for the arrest of Monsignor Joseph Ssebayigga, the Domestic Prelate Archpriest of Rubaga Cathedral on November 23, 1961.
Monsignor Ssebayigga and father later Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala were suspected to have translated Kiwanuka’s letter from Luganda to English, which Kiwanuka had personally penned.

At around 11:00pm, Buganda police, with orders from Kabaka Muteesa, stormed Rubaga Hill and arrested Ssebayigga and took him to Lubiri before the Kabaka for questioning, the Catholic News Bulletin of November 24, 1961 reported. The most wanted “criminal”, Archbishop Kiwanuka, had just traveled to America. When he returned from a trip a week later, he went to attend the Buganda Lukiiko at Mengo as a spiritual guardian of Kabaka Muteesa. Archbishop Kiwanuka had been the Kabaka’s spiritual guardian since 1939 when King Daudi Chwa, Muteesa’s father died.

Bishop booed, heckled
During the session, Kiwanuka was booed and heckled; called all sorts of names including a ram from the gallery. The clergy left the Lukiiko cursing whoever was behind the act.
Meanwhile, his Mercedes-Benz car parked outside the Lukiiko was vandalised by Mengo hoodlums, who also poured salt in its radiator and engine system.
The Archbishop walked from Bulange to Mengo and vowed never to return to Buganda’s Lukiiko (Parliament). Indeed, he never did.

But when tempers had cooled, Kabaka Muteesa sent his envoy to Archbishop Kiwanuka for peace talks. The two first met at Twekobbe, Kabaka’s official residence and later at Rubaga for a reconciliation. They agreed to work for peace in Uganda.
On May 24, 1966 when Kabaka Muteesa fled Mengo Palace after the attack by the Uganda army, he sought refuge at the Cardinal’s home at Rubaga. Although Archbishop Kiwanuka had died on February 22, 1966, Father Ssebayigga, Father Nsubuga and others cordially welcomed him before telephone contacts were made in Italian to a Catholic mission in Tanzania incase their telephone line were bugged.
From Rubaga, Kabaka Muteesa went to Tanzania before he reached Burundi and finally flew to London were he died in exile 1969.

What others say about current state-church tensions...
Former Forum for Democratice Change president, Gen Mugisha Muntu. The religious leaders should remain confident and strong as they continue critiquing the government where it is going wrong. I appeal to them to not fear because the God is there to protect them. The regime thinks that they will attack the church and people will simply look on.

Nobert Mao, Democratic Party president. History is replete with examples of the Church challenging tyranny as part of its evangelical calling to deliver humanity from bondage. In many cases, the Church is the last institution standing in the face of tyranny. In tackling the clergy, Museveni presents himself as a messiah being persecuted by the church.

The Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje. Our holy texts demonstrate that once equipped with waterproof evidence, prophets awakened rulers (kings) on their excesses. Those committing anti-people activities got warned, and if they heeded the prophecy in time, society would be saved from calamities and pestilences. The attacks cannot stop us.

Betty Nambooze, MP Mukono Municipality. We now fear to go for penitence because you don’t know the priest; you cannot tell whether you are talking to the representative of Jesus or that of Mr Museveni and if you do not go for penitence, you cannot go for the sacrament of Eucharist and without it you are faulting greatly on the religious teachings.

President Obote attacks Archbishop Nsubuga

At dawn on February 22, 1982, Uganda Freedom Army (UFA) rebel fighters of Dr Andrew Kayiira attacked Malire Barracks at Mengo in Kampala. Their artillery regiment shelled the barracks from Rubaga church premises.
The provocation entangled Emmanuel Cardinal Nsubuga, the Archbishop of Kampala. The Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), the national army after they had repulsed the rebels and took some captives, on February 24, 1982, which was Ashe Wednesday, a Tata truck loaded with soldiers from Malire Barracks, stormed Rubaga Cathedral, went to the alter and manhandled three priests, who were conducting mass, forcing the congregation to flee.
From the church, the soldiers went searching every house including the residual home and office of the Archbishop looking for guns but found none. The Uganda government accused Cardinal Nsubuga of supporting Museveni’s National Resistance Army (NRA) rebels.
The soldiers looted Archbishop and church property. Soldiers vocal in accusing Nsubuga of supporting NRA rebels were then Colonel Bazilio Olara Okello and then Captain Smith Opon Acak and later Brigadier.
Obote meets Cardinal Nsubuga
President Obote did not want the matter to escalate since there were many rebels fighting his government in Buganda. So, he thought a peaceful solution.
On March 18, 1982, President Obote met Cardinal Nsubuga at his Parliamentary office in Kampala. During the meeting, Obote accepted the mistake the military made and the two agreed to work towards reconciliation of hurt Ugandans.
And the deal worked at least from the surface – although those in the know affirm that Cardinal Nsubuga supported NRA rebels. In fact, it is said Nsubuga clandestinely visited rebels’ camps in Luweero Triangle to acquaint himself with the truth about the war against the Uganda
People’s Congress government. Meanwhile, during the meeting between Obote and Nsubuga, it was agreed that the cardinal visits Luzira Maximum Security Prison and talk to those considered political prisoners. The following month, the Archbishop went to Luzira Prison with other clergies from different faiths in Uganda. Having visited the prisoners, on May 12, 1982, the Cardinal wrote to the President.

The letter
The letter in the catholic archives seen by Sunday Monitor in part read that: “I am writing to you a short report concerning my visit to Luzira prisons on April 6, 1982… on a whole, I was highly impressed by the general appearance of Luzira prisons compared to that of 1979 after the liberation war when I visited…”
In his conclusion remarks, the cardinal promised to pray for Obote.
He wrote: “Promising you my prayers that you may lead the people of God in love, justice and peace.” The letter was delivered to President Obote by Dr Luwuliza Kirunda, Minister for Internal affairs.