Mbale enthrones bishop who dumped chalk for the Bible  

The Rev Can John Wilson Nandaah is set for consecration  and enthronement today as the bishop of Mbale Diocese at St Andrews Cathedral in Mbale City. 
Nandaah quit his job as deputy headteacher to answer the call of the altar.
 Born on January 30, 1962 to late Rev Abiazali Mafabi and Ms Constance Nabumati Mafabi of Bumwambu clan in Bukiende Sub-county  Mbale District, the Rev Can Nandaah says priesthood was his childhood dream.

 “Becoming a clergyman, was my dream since childhood. I started moving with my father when I was 10 and accompanied him to churches, carrying his bag and the Holy Bible,” he says. 
 “I always wanted to be a priest and in 1992, I made up my mind and left the classroom,”  he adds. 
 At the time, he had been deputy  headteacher of Burukuru Primary School as a Grade III Teacher, a position he had held for three straight years.  

After quitting the classroom, Nandaah was then recruited to undertake a Diploma in Theology at Bishop Tucker Theological College Mukono, which he completed in 1995.  
“While at College, on June 3, 1993, I  committed my  life to Jesus Christ as my  personal saviour. I  have never regretted the decision,” he says with a beaming smile. 
The Rev Can Nandaah, who will serve as the eighth bishop of the diocese, succeeds Patrick Gidudu, who has been bishop since 2008.
Rev Nandaah says he felt he was not going to be considered one of the candidates for the seat of bishop owing to his age.
 “I have six years left to clock 65 and I thought they would need someone younger, but when I received the news that I had been nominated, I was indeed humbled and I knew God was with me,”  the Rev Can Nandaah, says. 

 The news of his being elected as bishop sent Christians in the diocese, especially those of St Peter’s Church in Northern City Division, into jubilation. Rev Nandaah has been serving as Vicar of St Peter’s Church for several years.
 “I also got scared and I had to hide myself in one of the hotels in the city because I knew the probability of becoming a bishop was 50-50 until the news trickled in that I had been elected,” he adds. 

Rev Nandaah, who grew up in a Christian family, had served the diocese in various capacities as an ordained priest and a canon of St Andrews Cathedral. 
 He was appointed as Diocesan Secretary in 2013 until October 27, 2021, when he was pronounced bishop-elect of Mbale Diocese by the House of Bishops. 
 Rev Nandaah was baptised on April 6, 1962, at Bubirahi Parish, Nabumali Archdeaconry by Ven Erisa Masaba and confirmed on August 24,1975, at St Peters Church Busano Parish by Bishop Masaba. 

 Education
He began his  education at Burukuru Primary School in 1972 and completed in 1979.
He  later joined Light College Katikamu in Luweero District in 1980 but because of political instability at that time, he was transferred to Mbale High School while in Senior Two. 
 In 1983, Nandaah took his Uganda Certificate of Education exams. In 1984, he was admitted to Nyondo Teachers Training College to pursue a Grade III Teacher’s Certificate, which he completed in 1986.

 In 2000, he joined Uganda Christian University for a Bachelor’s Degree in Divinity which he completed in 2003. 
 Nandaah later enrolled for a post graduate diploma in Education, which he also completed in 2004 before enrolling for another postgraduate diploma in secondary education.
 Rev Nandaah, the last born in a family of eight, says growing up in a Christian family has enabled him to be what he is today.
 “We were nurtured in a Christianity because my dad was a priest, and we grew up in strict homes and subjected to Christian norms and values,” he says.
 Rev Nandaah says: “I also learnt to sing hymns at a very young age. I would sing most of them in the church to the surprise of our church leaders.” 

He says as bishop, he will build on the successes of his predecessor to cause more transformation in the diocese.
 “As a diocese, we will try to put up programmes, including income-generating projects to see that our clergy are well paid. We want to  equip and empower the clergy  to spread the Gospel of Christ,” he says, adding that this will lead Christians to revival, transformation and development. 
“I want to see development in both economic and spiritual growth among the Christians in the diocese,” he says. 
 Nandaah says in his tenure, he wants to see that the church reclaims its land on which Mbale Garage sits in Industrial Division. 

 “I’m going to start by appealing to the relevant authorities so that the artisans can be relocated from the church land so that we use it for church development,” he says. 
Rev Nandaah reveals that the biggest challenge facing the Anglican Church today is modernisation, which he says has led to exodus of the youth to Pentecostal churches. 
 “There is a huge exodus of young people to Pentecostal churches and when they go there, they are not rooted in the faith. As a church, we need to design programmes for youth in order to retain them in our churches,” he says.