The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Museveni has been tasked to fulfill pledges he made towards supporting the construction of St Janani Luwum Church in Kitgum municipality a year ago.
Construction works on the church estimated to cost 3.5 billion shillings and named in memory of the slain former Church of Uganda Archbishop Janani Luwum started in 2003.
It however stalled over the years after Kitgum Diocese failed to raise funds from believers and well-wishers required to complete the church.
Rev Canon Robinson Oginga Odinga, the Kitgum Town Parish Vicar who is overseeing the church construction says President Museveni in March last year made commitments to financially support construction of the church.
According to Rev Odinga, the President while presiding over the groundbreaking for constructing the church pledged iron sheets, cements and angle bars but a year later, only 560 iron sheets were delivered through the Kitgum Municipality Member of Parliament Beatrice Anywar.
Rev Odinga, however, says the Diocese hasn’t received pledges made on cements and angle bars amounting to 368 million shillings to date.
Rev Odinga says the delays in fulfilling the pledges has greatly affected progress of the church construction adding that the parish currently relies on a small church that can’t accommodate the high numbers of Christians.
He notes that a week ago they embarked on constructing a section of eastern wall of the church after pledges made by Christians and local leaders amounting to over 8 million shillings were realized.
Rev Odinga, however, says the money will only facilitate work on a small section of the church leaving the greater work untouched.
The Senior Presidential Spokesperson Don Wanyama, when contacted in a telephone interview, says a pledge made by the president is always fulfilled adding that the delays may be a result of unavailable funds at the moment.
He, however, says the Kitgum Diocese shouldn’t panic about the delays and instead advised them to reach out to the State House comptroller Lucy Nakyobe Mbonye to follow up on the pledge.
However, over the years the works stalled due to lack of funds after Kitgum Diocese failed to raise the remaining 2.3 billion shillings meant to complete its construction.
Once the church construction is complete, it will be able to accommodate 3,000 worshipers.
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