Museveni tells cultural leaders to instill morals

President Museveni has urged cultural and religious leaders to instill morals among Ugandans, saying it is the only way the country and citizens can benefit from the contributions of both institutions.

The President made the call during Bishop Hannington Memorial Day celebrations in Kyando, Mayuge District, on Saturday.

“As we remember these people who died for no good reason like Bishop Hannington and other martyrs, we should think of auditing traditional institutions in Uganda so that citizens can benefit from their positive contributions because they have their good side but also they have internal weaknesses,” Mr Museveni said.

President Museveni attributed Bishop Hannington’s killing to internal weaknesses of traditional institutions

“The Europeans had their plans of colonialism but out of those, there were those with good intentions. The traditional leaders should have waited to attack those who were armed, instead of killing Hannington who was spreading the gospel. We can engage the families of people like Bishop Hannington and we ask them for forgiveness on behalf of our forefathers for the wrongs they committed,” Mr Museveni said.

He promised to develop the Bishop Hannington site systematically as well as engage the Cabinet on why the request to make the day a public holiday was turned down. 

In efforts to develop the site, the President ordered the Ministry of Works and Transport to tarmac the four kilometre Kyando-Mayuge road that connects to the site.

The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, hailed Mr  Museveni for always extending financial support towards the commemorations of Hannington Day. 

Ms Kadaga said the Cabinet resolved that the day would not be annually recognised.

“Your Excellency, when we met you as political and religious leaders from Busoga, you told us that you cannot decide alone on gazetting the day into a public holiday. We proceeded to the Cabinet which resolved that the day will not be made a public holiday and should be celebrated like this,” Ms Kadaga said.

However, Archbishop of Church of Uganda Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu reiterated the need to declare the day as a public holiday, saying it marks the ministry and bloodshed of Christianity in Uganda.

“Hannington was killed along with other 60 people and they gave in their life for Christianity because of their life, we have got the gospel here. These people died but their death was not the end of life. We should not involve politics in the matter of gazetting this day as a public holiday,” Archbishop Kaziimba said.

Bishop Hannington,  who was the first Anglican bishop of East Africa, was killed on October 29, 1885 by the Bunya chief in Busoga on orders of Kabaka Mwanga II. 
He was installed as a bishop in June 1884.

The Bunya West MP, Mr Henry Aggrey Bagiire, appealed to the President for the reopening of Mayuge FM radio station whose operations were halted recently due to lack of an operational licence.

Mr Museveni promised to ask Uganda Communications Commission to reopen the station in the near future.