Clergy, family celebrate Archbishop Lwanga’s life

The former Archbishop of Kampala, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, is gone but not forgotten. Clergy, family, friends, and the public converged at Rubaga Cathedral yesterday for a 10am Mass to celebrate his life.
Archbishop Lwanga died of a heart attack resulting from a blood clot on April 3 last year.

Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere, his  successor, thanked Dr Lwanga for having had a fruitful ministry and manifesting the image of Christ. 

“Like Jesus Christ, he (Lwanga) gave his entire life, energy, intelligence and all he had for the good of the people of God had placed in his care,” Archbishop Ssemogerere said in his message read by Fr Pius Male Ssentumbwe, the chancellor of Kampala Archdiocese .

“He defended the flock with all his might and resources at his disposal. He was uncompromising in standing for and defending the truth, and he spoke truth to power. He raised his voice for the voiceless sheep and defended the rights of the downtrodden against the violence of the mighty,” he added.

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Speaking to Daily Monitor on the sidelines, Fr Ssentumbwe praised the late Archbishop for being a man of great personality, who embraced everyone and forgave easily.

“He was the kind of leader who liked and loved people and easily forgave and quickly forgot the wrongs others inflicted on him. Anger was not the kind of thing he would keep for long,” Fr Ssentumbwe said.
Ms Rose Lukwago, a sister of the late Archbishop, commended him for defending the rights of others.
“He advocated for peace and justice for the voiceless people,” she said.

Ms Lukwago, who represented the family,  added that his love for God and the church were undeniably remarkable. Retired Archbishop Augustine Kasujja, (formerly served as the Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium), said although Dr Lwanga’s death was sudden, his prayer was that the Lord received him in eternal life.

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A day before his demise last year, Dr Lwanga had been part of the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) team that had participated in the scientific Way of the Cross celebrations which aimed at commemorating Jesus suffering, death and resurrection during the biblical times.

In his planed Easter message then, the late Archbishop had called for the unconditional release of people who were at the time being held in various detention centres without being taken to court.

“In case they committed crimes, let those holding them follow the Constitution and take them to court to stand trial,” he was quoted to have said in the speech.

This was at a time when a number of Ugandans were disappearing mysteriously and being detained for various reasons, including for supporting the ideologies of the Opposition party, National Unity Platform (NUP), led by  Mr Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, aka Bobi Wine.

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The deceased prelate was buried at an underground cemetery inside Rubaga Cathedral on April 8 last year after the Church explained that bishops who die either while in active service or during retirement are laid to rest there.

His legacy

The late Archbishop Lwanga registered many achievements, including starting Wekembe, a savings and credit cooperative organisation to provide financial  services to low income earners.

 He was among the team that championed for resources that eventually saw refurbishment of Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo, construction of Mapeera House in Kampala and construction of an administration block next to Rubaga Cathedral, among other projects.