'Miraculous rainbow around sun excites Christians at Archbishop Luwum’s memorial prayers
Christians take photos of the ring around the sun at Wigwen village in Mucwini subcounty. Photo by Julius Ocungi
What you need to know:
One of the Kitgum Municipality residents Ms Jacqueline Amono however said she witnessed a Hallo earlier on Wednesday.
Archbishop Luwum was the Anglican archbishop of the Church Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga Zaire was murdered on February 17 1977 by Idi Amin soldiers for his sharp criticism against the then regime.
KITGUM.
Thousands of Christian believers on Friday screamed with joy and made loud ululation after seeing a circular rainbow around the sun in the sky during the 41st anniversary celebration to mark the martyrdom of Archbishop Janani Luwum in Mucwini sub county, Kitgum District.
It all began at about 10 am while in middle of homily conducted by the Church of Uganda Archbishop Stanley Ntagali when some Christians started pointing to the sky and murmuring about something “strange” around the sun.
“This is a sign that the former archbishop of Uganda Janani Luwum is truly a saint, we have never experienced anything like this before in this region,” one of the Christians said as he picked his phone to record the moment.
Look at how it’s hanging over the grave of the archbishop, this is miracle, he added.
Slowly, the message got to everyone and in a blink of an eye, thousands of people sprung on their feet with phone cameras to capture what they termed “strange and miraculous”. Many sang hymns and praised God for showing them the miracle.
Former FDC Party president Gen Mugisha Muntu couldnt resist capturing the moment. Photo by Julius Ocungi
The dignitaries who sat in the VIP tent too could not resist the attraction; one by one they got on their feet to witness.
Among them were the guests at the memorial prayers Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, several legislators within the region and the former Forum for Democratic Change Party President Gen Mugisha Muntu.
Retired Bishop of Kitgum Diocese Rev Macleod Baker Ochola who witnessed the event said it was a manifestation that the slain archbishop was a true servant of God.
“Today we are witnessing a very great miracle, when you see this sign; it means God is speaking to people of Uganda to listen to what Archbishop Janani Luwum preached about truth, justice,” He added that, “this is a very rare happening; it means that God is reminding people about the legacy of Archbishop Luwum”.
But according to information on the Huffington post website, the circular ring around the sun is also known as a 22 degree halo or a sun halo.
The circular ring around the sun is caused by sunlight passing through ice crystals in cirrus clouds within the Earth’s atmosphere thereby refracting the sunlight much like a prism giving a rainbow halo around the sun.
One of the Kitgum Municipality residents Ms Jacqueline Amono however said she witnessed a Hallo earlier on Wednesday.
“I don’t believe this happened because of the Memorial Day because I had witnessed it before,” she told Daily Monitor in an interview.
The hallo lasted for about one hour before disappearing.
There are general traditional belief within the region that a sign of a hallo happens when a respectable person in the community dies or has been killed.
Believers tend to also take these unusual happenings to mean miracles.
Archbishop Luwum was the Anglican archbishop of the Church Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga Zaire was murdered on February 17 1977 by Idi Amin soldiers for his sharp criticism against the then regime.
