Nyerere’s family applauds Museveni for Anti-Gay law

The family of former Tanzania President Julius Nyerere has applauded President Museveni for assenting to the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023.
The family said homosexuality is un-African and intended to wipe out African culture.

Speaking at the Julius Nyerere Day celebrations held at the Uganda Martyrs Shrine Namugongo in Wakiso District yesterday, Sr Dinah Ntandu, the assistant head of the Marianne Faith in Tanzania, who spoke on behalf of the Nyerere family, said: “I thank the President for signing the Anti-homosexuality Bill into law because it imparts on Africans strange cultures, which are not allowed. We pray for Uganda to have peace and be stable.”

Nyerere, who is remembered for his charismatic and influential leadership style, died in 1999 aged 77.
Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 declared the former Tanzanian President a “Servant of God”, placing him on a path for possible beatification and canonisation into sainthood.

 “I thank the President and Christians in Uganda for supporting the prayers for Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. I thank the church in Namugongo for organising the prayers and the Archbishop for allowing the Christians to pray from his diocese. I urge all Christians to come back next year for prayers. 

Mr Emmanuel Ssalongo Katumba, the chairperson of the Julius Nyerere prayer activities in Uganda, said the prayers began in 2007 following a request by Ms Maria Nyerere, the widow of the former Tanzanian president, to host them. 

He added that the late Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, the former Archbishop of Kampala, designated June 1 for the Nyerere prayers.
The prayers are held in the hopes that he will eventually be beatified and become a saint.
The State minister for Gender and Culture, Ms Peace Mutuzo, who represented President Museveni, said Nyerere was a man of noble character. 

“Mwalimu [Nyerere] is the greatest African and black man that has ever lived up to date. There are many Africans that have made great contributions to the African cause...but the greatest remains Nyerere and he was great out of his acts, humility, and purity,” she said. 

She added: “He lived a selfless life. I am told that he did not accumulate any property of his own and his slogan was that all he had was for Tanzanians but most importantly he left behind a legacy of a family that has lived up to his expectations and the standards he left [behind].”

The prayers were attended by high-profile individuals from both Uganda and Tanzania.
The Nyerere family led by Ms Nyerere was also present at the function.