Govt adds sports stadium to Luwum pilgrimage site
"They are going to kill me. I am not afraid…I can see the hand of God in this,” Archbishop Janani Luwum, February 16, 1977.
What you need to know:
- The Ethics minister says the facility will include a modern sports stadium to generate income for the Church and also sustain the pilgrimage and tourist site.
The government plans to upgrade the Archbishop Janani Luwum burial site into an international pilgrimage, tourist site, and a modern sports stadium.
Ethics and Integrity minister Lilly Akello told Cabinet last week that President Museveni has guided that the master plan be modified to include a modern sports stadium to generate income for the Church and also sustain the pilgrimage and tourist site.
Ms Akello last week tabled before Cabinet a paper on the progress of developing the St Janani Luwum burial site. The Cabinet sat at State House, Entebbe.
She said the President’s directive followed a meeting between him, Finance minister Matia Kasaija, and Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Stephen Kazimba in April 2022.
The 47th remembrance of St Janani Luwum Day takes place tomorrow at Wii-gweng, in Mucwini, Kitgum District. The day will be marked under the theme, ‘Conforming to the truth of God’s word, not the patterns of the world’.
The Dioceses of Madi-West Nile and Nebbi will lead the celebrations to mark this year’s event. Mr Museveni is expected to grace the occasion.
Ms Akello said several developments have since been registered.
“A certificate of title, for the grounds where the annual commemoration is held, is being processed in the name of the Diocese of Kitgum, and will be issued within the next few weeks,” she said.
Ms Akello added: “A private firm of architects which worked on the master plan has had it redesigned to include the sports stadium.”
She said the Directorate for Ethics and Integrity will submit the bills of quantities and certificate of title to the Works ministry for approval and onward submission to the Finance ministry for funding
Mr Alex Okello, the Ethics and Integrity Permanent Secretary, told Daily Monitor last week that work on the site is in progress.
Can Gladys Oyat, the chairperson of the local organising committee, said the archbishop in consultation with the bishop of the Diocese of Kitgum had already put in place a committee to be inaugurated soon to oversee the work.
What you need to know
President Museveni declared St Janani Luwum Day a public holiday in 2015. Luwum, the second archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire, was murdered by the Idi Amin regime in 1977. The day is commemorated annually at the late Archbishop Janani Luwum’s burial site at Wii-gweng in Mucwini in Kitgum District.
