Single event planned for St. Janani Luwum memorial

Kitgum, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Celebrations to mark the 45th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Janani Luwum will be conducted physically in Wii-Gweng in Kitgum district.

Barely two weeks ago, both the central and local organizing committees of the event had decided that the event be celebrated from Kololo and in Kitgum, while each of the 37 dioceses holds its own event, due to the prevailing Coronavirus pandemic.

However, Jackson Omona, the chairperson of the local organizing committee of the St. Janani Luwum memorial, says that the local organizing committee received information from the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, that it will be a single event hosted by Kitgum district.

Omona says due to the change, both the local and the national organizing committee will meet to see how to handle the issue of health and security on the day of the event.   He says they will now need support in terms of seats and refreshments because the local organizing committee was planning for only a few people from within Kitgum district.

Although he did not explain the exact reason for the decision to have two separate main events, Omna says the turnaround is for the best, because many people were asking why the event should be hosted in Kampala.

The government gazetted February 16 as a public holiday in honor of the life and works of Archbishop Janani Luwum of the Church of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga Zaire, who was killed in February 1977.

Prior to the main event, Christians from all over the country undertake a pilgrimage to St. Janani’s resting place at Wii Gweng in Mucwini Sub-county to preach the gospel in his hometown and walk in his path of faith.

This year’s celebration is; “Hope beyond affliction,” and it was taken from the book of Lamentations 3:21-25.

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