Ntagali slams govt on contraceptives

Faulted policy. Archbishop Stanley Ntagali shakes hands with Liz Nalumansi, a children’s court judge at Kamuli Girls Boarding Primary School, during his pastoral visit to Busoga Diocese last week. PHOTO BY SAM CALEB OPIO

What you need to know:

Caution. The Archbishop said children do not need bad polices such as family planning methods in schools

Jinja/kamuli/Bugiri.

The Archbishop Stanly Ntagali has condemned a Ministry of Health proposal to have school children as young as 10 years access birth control services saying the act is giving children a licence to start sex at an early age.

The archbishop was addressing a congregation at Bugembe Christ Cathedral in Jinja District on Sunday at the climax of his six-day pastoral tour to Busoga sub-region where he raised more than Shs120 million towards the construction of the Church House in Kampala.
“We need to know what is good for our children. Children do not need bad polices such as family planning methods in schools because this is someone’s idea, which the Church will not accept,’’ he said.

Moral questions
Last week, religious leaders observed that the proposal raises moral questions with Archbishop of Kampala Cyprian Kizito Lwanga cautioning government about policies that contradict church teachings.

“We require the catholic couples to be faithful to the church’s teachings on sexuality and ensure that children do not use family planning. The use of family planning is a substantial breach of church teachings,” said Archbishop Lwanga. Referring to the Quran, the Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Mubajje, said Allah takes care of all human beings’ needs.

“We should not hesitate to bring children into the world out of fear or for selfish reasons. We must also remember that no method of birth control is 100 per cent effective. Allah is the creator, and if Allah wants a couple to have a child, we should accept it as his will.”

Pastor Martin Nangoli of the Wake Up Ministries in Uganda said: “As a church, we regard sex outside marriage as morally wrong. We believe that abstaining from sex would be morally better than having sex before marriage and using birth control.”

The Education ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Alex Kakooza, commenting on the Ministry of Health’s policy proposal that would have all health centres providing birth control services to adolescents last week, explained that before such a proposal is adopted in any school, the Ministry of Health must involve key stakeholders.

Ministry response
Ministry of Health’s acting director general of Health Services, Dr Anthony Mbonye, last week referred to the guidelines as a draft, adding that they are in the process of reviewing the national policy guidelines and service standards for sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Condemns homosexuality
Archbishop Ntagali also attacked school managers who promote homosexuality in schools under the influence of money from its promoters.

“Homosexuals have planted agents to recruit students into the vice exploiting their impoverishment. When there is a case in the school about sodomy, the school authorities go silent about it because they have been bribed fearing to lose the assistance,” Archbishop Ntagali said.

He called upon students to report cases of homosexuality instead of suffering silently.
While addressing believers in other areas of Busoga sub-region, he cautioned them against mixing culture and religious issues.