The Bishop of Namirembe Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira has summoned all the clerics and their spouses for a crisis meeting following sex scandals rocking Church of Uganda.
According to New Vision newspaper, Bishop Luwalira’s move came after it emerged that another city priest had allegedly sired a child out of wedlock. This was after the suspension of the Rev. Ronald Kalende a few weeks ago over a sex scandal.
Luwalira a few days ago ordered the diocesan secretary, the Rev. Cannon Nelson Kaweesa, to suspend another cleric who is alleged to have sired a child out of wedlock. The priest is based in Kabusu, according to the local daily.
“He took the child home and told his wife that they should adopt the child. He claimed the child was from a Muslim family. But the wife didn’t swallow the lie and decided to complain to the bishop,” sources say.
The sources further revealed that since Kalende’s saga surfaced, the bishop has received numerous complaints about his clerics involvement in scandalous behaviour.
The office of the bishop of Namirembe Diocese yesterday ran radio announcements summoning all clerics — archdeacons, reverends, deacons and catechists as well as their spouses to come for a “must-attend” crisis meeting at Namirembe at 10:00 am.
The announcement emphasised that only the sick or those at educational institutions who require express permission to be away from the institutions were exempted from attending the meeting.
The priests who are under suspension were also asked to stay away from the crisis meeting.
Rev. Kalende fathers child with choir member:
A DNA test this week confirmed Rev. Kalende as the father of the child he sired with a church choir member.
Rev. Kalende had earlier said he was not the father of Perusi Nabirye’s child, Mirembe Israella Reign.
He instead accused another Reverend, Julius Matovu of Jjungo Parish of being responsible.
This prompted the suspension of both priests, according to Namirembe diocesan secretary, Rev. Can. Nelson Kaweesa, who signed on the letters of suspension.
Both were banned from preaching in any church in the country
Nabirye was a pianist at St. Stephen’s Kazo Church of Uganda.
Upon denial, Kalende, who was due to wed Elusah Ssanyu Namuyige, the daughter of the Rev. Daniel Sserumbaawo, agreed to carry out a DNA test.
Last week, the test was carried out at MBN Clinical Laboratories with results conclusively showing that the Reverand was Mirembe’s father.
In all the 22 analysed loci of the STR system, a matching allele was detected between Ronald Kalende and Israella Mirembe Reighn. Therefore, Kalemde can be considered the biological father of Mirembe and by no means can he be excluded,” the report states.
“I am happy that the DNA has confirmed the biological father of my son,” Nabirye said.
The results were received by Rev. Emmanuel Ssewanyana, the arch deacon of St. Stephens Church.
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