By our reporter
Details of the meeting between President Yoweri Museveni and Kampala Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga on Sunday at Nakasero State Lodge in Kampala have started to emerge.
The two leaders met after the Archbishop’s tough messages at the Easter weekend that the government has planted priests to spy on him, some even giving wrong intelligence to the head of the state about the prelate.
On Easter Monday, President Museveni telephoned the Archbishop and agreed to meet and iron out the misunderstanding.
After the Sunday meeting, State House issued a statement saying, “Investigations are already underway by the relevant authorities” into the archbishop’s concerns.
Despite the brief statement, it has since emerged that the meeting between Mr Museveni and Dr Lwanga lasted for about four hours.
Archbishop Lwanga arrived at Nakasero State Lodge with a delegation of about 15 people. However, after the official pleasantries, the president and archbishop settled for the two-men meeting. This should be the longest meeting between the two people since each took to their respective positions.
Museveni and Lwanga have in the past not warmed up to each other, and it seem the head of state missed Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala at Rubaga, the seat of the Archdiocese of Kampala. Lwanga too, a development oriented prelate who spent several years as a confidential aide of the late Cardinal Emmanuel Nsubuga and later a senior cleric under Cardinal Wamala, has not enjoyed the power and influence of his predecessors. His term has been ruined with rebel priests including Fr Jacinto Kibuuka who broke ranks with the Catholic church to form his own Mamre Prayer Centre. He was later consecrated ‘bishop’ to the annoyance of the catholic fraternity in Uganda. However, many people say Kibuuka was being promoted by the state to destabilize the Catholic Church leadership.
Some of the priests who had left the catholic church including Fr Musaala and Fr Deogratius Ssonko were welcomed back during the Easter celebrations into the catholic flock, and sources told this website, the information that the intelligence network had recruited priests, emanated from this reunion.
Archbishop Lwanga moved with a heavy file to State House with details to the president of all the people involved in the security operation against the catholic leadership in Kampala. Lwanga also shared the list of priests on the intelligence payroll. Lwanga had refused to share these details with police officers including IGP Martin Okoth Ochola, who had met the archbishop prior.
This website understands that Mr Museveni appreciated the Archbishop for sharing the information with him and committed himself to investigate and give Dr Lwanga feedback. He also said state officials involved in the spying on the archbishop will be checked.
However, when the president offered to give the archbishop extra security including a lead vehicle, Dr Lwanga turned the offer down, saying he does not believe his personal security was under threat but insisted the president should withdraw all security people spying or threatening lives of clerics and religious leaders.
The archbishop said the president must stop believing wrong information about the church particularly that Lwanga was plotting to overthrow the regime.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
