REV. ABBEY M. KAMOGA: Namirembe Diocese must run to the Constitutional Court for guidance

Even though the rules and regulations for nominations and elections of new Bishop seem clear to a naked eye, there are serious contradictions between the Provincial Church of Uganda Constitution and the Church Canons that must be interpreted professionally if the nomination committee to quickly deliver nominees for the next  Bishop of Namirembe.

For instance, while in the Provincial Canons, qualifications they are very broad and only  require  a Bachelor’s Degree in either Theology or Divinity (Can. 3.7.22 (c)) to qualify for the coveted office, the Provincial Constitution just requires only Bachelor’s degree in Theology (Article 13: VI) and nothing more.

The whole story gets worse when a candidate holds Bachelor’s degree is in any other field. According to the Church Canons (Can. 3.7.22 (c)) he or she must have a Post Graduate Diploma in either Theology or Divinity to qualify for the purple. Yet the Provincial Constitution avers that a secular degree must go with an additional Diploma in Theology or Divinity (Article 13: VI) to dip a figure in the ‘pecan pie’.

Now, this is where the temple of Justice should give a hand.

What is an “Additional” Diploma? Is this the same as “Post Graduate” Diploma or they are different?  And to what extent are they the different or the same? And what are the odds for a Priest who started off with a Diploma in Theology and went in the field to gather years of experience before getting a Secular Degree in a related field like Education, Counselling and Social Work? And what are the factual date to support such scenarios e.g. Bishops recently consecrated.

With only two months left to the retirement of Bishop Luwalira, the nomination committee has no time left for bickering amongst themselves. In any case they risk breaking their own neck if they do not heed the objections raised by the growing number of Christians in the Diocese.

There also a problem on the composition of the Nomination committee which has come back to haunt Namirembe.  The Canons and Constitution of the Church, specifically articles on the nomination and election of new Bishops (Article 13. VI) are not so clear on the how the Chairman of the nomination committee (Diocesan Chancellor) must be elected.

Must he or she be elected by committee members on their first meeting like the case with secular organizations like election of Speakers in Parliament or Local Councils?  Or he or she he should be elected directly by the Diocesan Synod like the case with Local Village councils

This constitutional gap has been exploited by the departing Bishops who instead appoint the Chairpersons of the nomination committee in what clearly presents a conflict of interest to the entire process.

And whether the Chancellor will stand up to the temptation of choosing a favored candidate of his appointing authority remains very much an open question. This explains why names of candidates like the Canon Moses Banja, the Archdeacon of Luzira who are widely believed to be closely associated with the retiring Bishop Luwalira are suffering so much powerful tailwinds on the committee.

It is also rumored that new candidates are being smuggled mid-way into the process. For instance, what explains the inclusion of Rev. Abraham Muyinda (Vicar of St. Paul’s Cathedral) on the final ballot paper when he did not submit his applications in the first place?

And what happed to Bishop Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira’s announcement to the entire Diocesan synod which sat on Friday, 21^st October 2022 that all intending candidates for nomination must submit their applications to the office of the Diocesan Secretary not later than Friday, 2^nd December 2022?

This is a serious allegation which not only subjects the professional brand of our Church, as a custodian of ethics and morals, to a toxic hyper drive; but also ratchets up an already fraught ecclesiastical atmosphere.

The entire nomination committee must thoroughly investigated, and those culpable be brought to account.

Otherwise, this has the potential to raise the stakes high for Bishop Luwalira and to blow up his legacy, sky high.

AUTHOR

Rev. Abbey M. Kamoga

CHAPLAIN, KADIC HOSPITALS

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