Archbishop Kaziimba calls for justice as election day draws near

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu has called for justice and fairness as the country gears up to the January elections.

Kaziimba was this morning delivering his Christmas sermon in a socially distanced service at All Saints Cathedral, Kampala. His sermon was under the theme: “Joy to the World”.

“Peaceful campaigns and peaceful elections should be promoted,” Kaziimba said. “Let there be justice and fairness in the whole exercise. Let there be peace. Uganda is here to stay, Uganda will continue…let us learn to co-exist, support and love one another.”

He added that Ugandans should learn to co-exist regardless of their political affiliations, religions, color and tribe.

“Dear ones, we have experienced gender based violence, political violence, hooliganism…which we condemn so badly, it’s not the way to go. Excessive force from security which led to loss of lives, lets pursue the Lord of peace,” he said.

According to Archbishop Kaziimba, there is need to have a National Dialogue in Uganda so that people can come together, discuss issues of concern and forgive each other for peace to reign.

Election campaigns in Uganda kicked off on 9th November and are expected to close on 12th January 2021 after which Ugandans will go to polls to elect their President and Members of Parliament on January 14th, 2021.

The Archbishop reiterated his earlier message on the political season saying that Ugandans should not seek perfect peace from politicians, religious and other things but rather from Jesus, the savior of the world who establishes perfect peace.

“Let me tell you, there is no salvation in any politician,” he said. “Salvation is in Jesus alone, not anywhere else. We need politicians, yes because we need leaders but, we cannot have salvation out of them. You will never get salvation from any Bishop, any Archbishop…if you look at me for salvation, you will be disappointed. I am not a savior,” he said.

In regard to the Covid-19 pandemic, Archbishop Kaziimba says that wearing a mask is a form of people having peace with their neighbors.

“This is the first Christmas when people are worshiping, preaching and teaching in masks. It’s very unusual. It is the first Christmas when not everybody including our children can come with us to worship. So this is really business unusual and we need to understand and be flexible. We need to learn to adjust because in other countries, people are not even allowed to worship. So let us be careful.”

He said that removing a mask while talking to others only shows that one is not a peace lover and only creates a problem. Kaziimba appealed to Ugandans to wear masks properly, wash hands, practice physical distancing and keep their families together and safe.

Covid-19 test results for Wednesday 23rd December indicate that Uganda registered 515 news cases bringing the cumulative confirmed cases to 32,914. So far, 245 people have died due to coronavirus.

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