Corrupt officials need divine deliverance – Kaziimba

The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rt Rev Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, has said Jesus should set free those thriving on corruption at the expense of service delivery to citizens.
“May the risen Lord set free many people in prison of corruption in every office. Corruption kills hope, yet it is rampant in our society and it is leading to the destruction of our mother earth. It hinders development and deprives us of proper service delivery,” he said.

Archbishop Mugalu made the remarks while delivering an Easter message at Namirembe Archbishop’s Gardens in Kampala yesterday. This year’s Easter Day will be celebrated on Sunday in memory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He expressed concern about persistent reports of corruption happening in different offices, a vice he said was destructive and a deterrent to the development of the country.

The Archbishop’s comments follow a series of social media exhibitions with the latest being the #UgandaParliamentexhibition campaign on X, which brought to the light alleged corruption     in Parliament.
À number of Parliamentary staff have been fingered in the exhibition for receving money for Speaker’s activities outside the set procedures. 
In another isnance,  the former Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mr Mathias Mpuuga, and three otrher bankbenchers were accuses of sharing Shs1.7 billion as service award.

It was reported that in May 2022, Mr Mpuuga received Shs500m during a Parliamentary Commission meeting, an act that the leader of his party, the National Unity Platform (NUP) party, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, has continuously condemned.  
Another contentious issue was allegations that Parliament paid Shs3.12b to Mama Bukedea FM, a local radio station.

During a recent visit to Bukedea District to verify her particulars in the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party registry, Ms Among told the people in her constituency that the accusations against her were made by those interested in her job.
The Speaker added that she was also being attacked for supporting the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023.   
The Inspectorate of Government has before said Uganda loses about Shs20 trillion to corruption every year.

Archbishop Kaziimba also condemned the wars, conflicts, and insecurity around the world. 
“As much as there is terrible fighting and wars taking place in many parts of the world, I’m equally concerned about the ongoing conflicts and insecurity in our region, especially in South Sudan, Sudan, and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said.
He also commended Uganda for the refugee open policy that has seen millions of refugees accommodated in the country.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister, Uganda hosts about 1.6 million refugees.
On the issue of gender-based violence, the Archbishop said boys should be supported to learn how to respect the dignity of girls and women.
Archbishop Kaziimba has asked the government to intervene in a case where some individuals are allegedly claiming ownership of Church land in Kumi District.

“We are concerned by the behaviour of some people in Kumi who were hired by a cult to carry sticks to church and block entrances. They have confiscated churches belonging to the Church of Uganda. How can a cult that has existed for three years claim ownership of the churches that the Church or Uganda has owned for 40 to 50 years,” he wondered.
“I appeal to government politicians in Kumi to intervene. The government is here to protect Ugandans and their property. This is the time to be practical,” he added.

Mukono Bishop  slams govt on free education 

Meanwhile, the Bishop for Mukono Diocese, the Rt Rev Enos Kitto Kagodo has rebuked the government for discouraging parents with children in schools under the free universal education scheme, from paying extra fees charged. 
The government introduced the Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme in 1997 and a decade later added Universal Secondary Education (USE), which provide free education to all children in the country.

However, despite the increased learner enrolment and the substantial investment in the education sector, there have been concerns about the high school drop-out rate, the high pupil-to-book ratio, lack of basic instructional materials, among others.

While delivering an Easter message at the diocesan headquarters in Mukono yesterday, Bishop Kagodo said stopping parents from paying some money to facilitate their children’s education is unfair when it is clear that the government lacks enough funds to run the free education programme.
“I have visited many schools and I have observed that former good schools collapse because parents were told their children are to study for free. This cannot happen in Uganda now because we all know schools need money to operate and the government support cannot meet all the needs of the learners ” Bishop Kagodo said.

He added: “I urge parents to pay the agreed amounts of money to enable school management committees to hire more staff to boost academic standards and also be able to feed pupils because hunger has equally affected the performance of learners.”