Why Fr. Kanyike has a deep love for the youth

Msgr Lawrence Kanyike during a mass in St Augustine’s Chapel. Kanyike who retired last week has worked in the chapel since 1984.

What you need to know:

Many who have prayed at St Augustine’s Chapel at Makerere University will talk of how Msgr Lawrence Kanyike had a soft spot for the youth. He tells us why he dedicated 30 years to this section of people.

It is a question that has been running through the minds of many. In an era where the gap between God and the youth, widens by the day, many wonder, “Why is Msgr Lawrence Kanyike, ‘a man of God’, popular among the students of Makerere University?” I set out to get the answer from the man himself but even before he said it, his actions did.

I meet him at his office in Makerere University. He is dressed in a weather beaten but well pressed black short sleeved shirt. His priest collar is untied. His trousers are equally black, but noticeably a tad loose. The eye cannot miss the silver and gold coloured watch on his left wrist for it is his sole accessory. When he sees me, he flashes a brief smile, stretches out his hand to shake mine as we exchange pleasantries. The handshake is a firm one, thanks to his stiff fingers. He points to a three seater settee and urges me to sit.

He breaks the ice by engaging me in a chat about my job as a journalist. The enthusiasm on his face is charming. My mind quickly registers the fact that Kanyike’s strength in luring lies in showing interest in the person before him. Didn’t famous author Dale Canergie say that that is one of the ways to win friends and influence people? Anyway, for certainty’s sake I seek to get my answer from the horse’s mouth.

“Msgr, why do you think you are loved by the students of this university?” I ask. He pauses to think, clears his throat and replies, “It is not a secret. If you show a student that you love him or her, if you show him that you prioritise him in whatever you do, he will reciprocate the feeling and participate in everything that you ask of him/her. That is the trick world over.”

For the last 30 years, Kanyike has been the Chaplain of the university’s Catholic community. Last week he retired from the role. He informs me that he is sad that he is leaving but at the same time happy that he was able to achieve most of the goals that he had set during the morning of his career.

Changing the face of the chapel
In 1984, he took over from Dr David Kyeyune as the chaplain of St Augustine’s, after the latter was appointed Dean of Arts at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi.
“I was not impressed by what I found. The order of the day was that few students would come for mass, which the Chaplain would say.

At its end, both parted ways, (the students to their halls and the chaplain to his place of residence). They would only meet again the next Sunday,” he narrates. “I said to myself, this is not going to be my style. I promised myself that I would make sure that the church’s influence in the university is felt. I wanted it to be the moral conscience of the university. I wanted the students to feel a sense of belonging to their faith. To achieve this, I created means to involve students in participating in the affairs of the church.”

Kanyike says that he moved mass from the church to the students’ places of residence. First, he asked the students to form leadership committees amongst themselves on the basis of their halls of residence and hostels.

Involving the students
Members of these committees coordinated the church’s activities in the various halls and hostels. “Every Wednesday I would meet with their leaders to receive weekly reports. I made it a point to say mass at least twice a semester in every hall and hostel. This helped to bridge gaps that existed between them and the church,” he states.

Kanyike believed that as Chaplain he was not only responsible for the students’ spiritual lives, but also their social behaviour. In order to participate in their social lives, he initiated social occasions such as the annual freshers’ dinner and the annual leavers’ party. He also organised beach bashes for different halls and hostels. He says that he was aware that throwing such parties alone was not enough to signal the love he had for the students. Thus, he ensured that he was at the forefront of the preparations.

“I would lead the team going to Owino to buy the foodstuffs. I would drive to UgaChick to buy chicken. Most importantly, I would also go and attend the parties. The big mistake that other people make is to say there is evil at the beach so I cannot go there. That is wrong. You are better off if you go there and portray how a Christian is supposed to behave when they are on an outing. Actually this is something that I have been stressing to my students, for example, that to go dancing is not bad, as long as you depict how a member of our faith is supposed to carry themselves when they go dancing,” he says.

How did he deal with students who exploited such ceremonies to exhibit immoral tendencies? He says he rarely had such cases and even when they happened, he would, at the end of the event, talk to the culprits. “These are mature people. You do not go around condemning them. So the best approach is to show them wrong they have done and tell them the right thing to do,” he states.

The sense of satisfaction in Kanyike’s tone when he is speaking about his achievements in his three decade spell at the university, may leave one under the assumption that the ride has been an easy one. It has not. He says this to me, twice, to underline how hard it has been.
“You have to be ready to make sacrifices. Big sacrifices. For example I missed most of my family and friends’ ceremonies because they clashed with the church’s programmes.

Nevertheless, I could withstand these sacrifices because I loved what I was doing. You know, students are our future leaders and intellectuals of the country. So it was my mission to shape their morals so that when they are in offices of authority they can demonstrate the good ethics they learned. And I was ready for any sacrifice to pull this off,” he notes.

One challenge not solved
However, as the 63-year-old leaves the university, there is one notable goal that he has been unable to achieve – involvement of the administrators in the lives of the students. He says most of the wardens at the university are there to earn salaries and not to guide the students’ lives yet the latter is their responsibility.

On a number of occasions, he invited the different wardens and the dean of students, to the parties he organised, but none ever attended. “I wanted to use such gatherings as platforms to forge a bond between the administration and the students. Its absence is the reason why there are strikes almost every semester,” he says.

It has not been work without play for the fourth born in a family of 15, of whom seven have passed on. He winds up by watching premier league soccer, preferably when the team he supports, Arsenal is playing. Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Bacary Sagna (he calls him one of the best wingers in the world) are his favourite players. He also does a lot of exercise. This is not only to relax but is an effort to heal from a stroke he suffered in 2008, that left him with slurred speech.

We are told that one’s legacy is etched into the minds of others by their deeds With only good stories told about Kanyike, it is undeniable that his legacy at Makerere is an enviable one.

HIS TAKE ON THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE COUNTRY

“Our country’s first and last taste of good governance, after independence, was during the era of Obote 1. Beyond that we have been in the motion of a free fall. Look at the state of Makerere University which was once referred to as the Harvard of Africa. Which explanation would you give for the absence of drugs in Mulago, a national referral hospital?

Anyway I think the problem is that every person who took over power did so, not to serve the people but to instead serve themselves. That is why you are seeing people stealing billions of shillings and the authorities in charge of dealing with this are simply looking on. We are told that church leaders are not supposed to comment on the politics of the country but this is so unfair. The bad government decisions which negatively affect the lay person equally affect me. Besides why would one be afraid of the police if they are not a criminal?”

HIS TAKE ON THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE

“In the past, when people married, they always had a sense of commitment to their decision to join the institution. The young generation of today is less committed. Commitment demands making sacrifices but of late people do not want to make sacrifices. That is why marriages break up because none of the partners is willing to make sacrifices in order to preserve their marriage. It should be noted that in a loving relationship, both parties must take the step of meeting each other half way.

HIS TAKE ON MATERIALISTIC CHURCH LEADERS

“The problems stems from the foundation of those churches. The reason for their establishment has absolutely nothing to do with spirituality but rather to get money from the masses that throng them. We are living in a problem-filled world where people are looking for an instant-problem solving God. So these pastors pose as God and ride on that to fleece their followers. It unfortunate that the followers are so problem–filled, that their intellectual capacity is blurred. How else do you explain that one does not question themselves where “the man of God” is getting the money to buy a posh car and live in a mansion?”

THE FATHER’S BIOGRAPHY

Kanyike retired because he is past the age of 60 years, beyond which one is not permitted to continue serving under the university. Two years ago, with blessing from the Archbishop, he founded St Joseph’s Parish in Kyengera. That is going to be his next post of service. He says that he hopes to make it the model Parish in the country.
February 25, 1950: Born to John Ddamba and Kevina Bulya at Luvumbula, Katende Mpigi Parish
1957-1961: Attended Katende Primary School
1962: Joined Nsambya St Peters Primary School
1965: Nyenga Seminary
1968: Katigondo Major Seminary
1971: Catholic Seminary of Indiannapolis (US)
1974-8: Notre Dame University - Served as an assistant
1978: Served as assistant priest of Namilyango Parish, lecturer of St Mbaga Major Seminary – Ggaba (to date)
1984: Chaplain Makerere University.
Education attained: Phd in Dogmatic Theology and Masters in divinity conferred on May 23, 1974 and May 24, 1978 from University of Notre Dame, USA.

Comments from our readers

How would you describe Fr Kanyike?

He is a very friendly man. He has a good sense of humour. It these aspects that made him popular. His office is always open to all students who would be sharing various challenges.
Joshua Mugume, Student, Bachelor of Statistics

He is a good man who has great love for students. At his age, one would expect him to prefer dealing with his age mates or to write off today’s youths as has been done by many people, but this is not the case with him.
Monica Lubega, Counsellor at St. Augustine’s church.

He was an eloquent preacher. When he took to the pulpit to talk, you would hardly see a bored face. I think he was not conservative. This he demonstrated by the social gatherings that he organised for the students.
Francis Kimbowa, lecturer