Bishop Emeritus Otim to be buried next week, says church
The Bishop Emeritus of Lango Diocese, Rev Melchizedek Otim, will be laid to rest next week (October 20), according to a tentative burial programme released by the archdiocese.
Bishop Emeritus Otim, 85, who was the first bishop of Lango Diocese passed on at about 3am on Wednesday morning at Mulago Heart Institute.
Ms Anne Alum Ogwal, the deceased’s daughter, said her father had been battling a long illness.
The provincial secretary of Church of Uganda, Rev Canon William Ongeng, yesterday said they will meet with the family to conclude burial arrangements.
A funeral service will be held at All Saints Cathedral Nakasero on Tuesday before the body departs for Apac. On Wednesday there will be another funeral service at St Thomas Church of Uganda, Apac, and an overnight vigil at St Peters Cathedral, Aduku.
Another vigil will be held at St Augustine Cathedral Barogole in Lira before the body is taken to Lira District Council the following day to lie in state.
Christians will again pay their last respects to the departed bishop on Saturday October 19.
Rev Canon John Charles Odurkami, the second Lango Bishop who took on from the late Otim after he retired, said the deceased bishop was so passionate about his work.
“By the time he was consecrated in 1976, the diocese was facing hardships with no single vehicle to run its operations. There was no money for his consecration and the diocese offered to pay for it but he persevered and did not give up on the calling,” he said.
