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Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Archbishop of Kampala Catholic Archdiocese, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga accuses Museveni’s government of using catholic priests and catechists to spy on catholic Church: State re-possesses weapon that was in custody of dead catholic priest : If catholic priests are being used as spies for Museveni’s government, how about Pentecostal Pastors??
Museveni. Arch Bishop Lwanga hold talks over recent claims of
priest spies
A section of Christian legislators want
to probe into allegations that the church has been infiltrated by
security and intelligence organs to spy for President Yoweri Museveni.
Last
week on Good Friday, the archbishop of Kampala diocese Dr Cyprian
Kizito Lwanga revealed that he’d been informed by an anonymous caller
that the state had recruited several clergy including priests, nuns,
catechists to work as undercover agents. Lwanga said the spy agents have
since told President Museveni that the archbishop was plotting to
overthrow his government. Kampala archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga (R) talks to Church of Uganda Archbishop Stanley NtagaliDuring Easter prayers at Rubaga cathedral, Lwanga again talked about
state spies within the church. He cited a case of the priest who
recently died under unclear circumstances and later the security
personnel went to his residence claiming for a gun that the priest had
reportedly been using to do their work.
Security minister Gen Elly Tumwiine all
but confirmed Lwanga’s fears. In an interview with New Vision, Tumwiine
said the state spies on all those doing “wrong things” and that if
Lwanga is not doing anything sinister, he has no reason to worry. Now,
led by Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze, MPs Emmanuel Ssempala
Kigozi (Makindye Ssabagabo), Moses Kasibante (Rubaga North) and Joseph
Gonzaga Ssewungu (Kalungu West), the legislators argue that some of the
believers especially in the Catholic church are scared of seeking
penitence and holy eucharist owing to suspicion that the presiding
priests could be recording their confessions or giving them poison-laced
eucharist. Catholics use penitence to show sorrow and regret for
having done wrong while the holy eucharist is a rite that celebrates the
death of Jesus Christ. To celebrate the rite, priests with the
assistance of nuns serve bread (eucharist) and wine to the faithfuls. The
MPs argue that in his attempts to belittle the church and disorganize
power centres, President Museveni is using security organs like CMI, ISO
and ESO among others to recruit priests, nuns and other church leaders
into spying on each other The legislators said that it is to the
dismay of many Christian believers that the regime has now infiltrated
the church with the aim of killing the Catholic institution like the
case with Muslims. According to the MPs, it is unfortunate that some
priests are being used as intelligence spies, which will in turn kill
the trust between the priests and the followers. Nambooze said
that the foundation of the church is the trust between the believers and
the priests which all begins with the sacrament of penitence that would
require one to have confidence in the priest “We now fear to go
for penitence because you don’t know the priest; you can’t tell whether
you are talking to the representative of Jesus or that of Mr. Museveni
and if you don’t go for penitence, you cannot go for the sacrament of
Eucharist and without it you are faulting greatly on the religious
teachings,” Nambooze said. Ssempala-Kigozi expressed concern that
training priests and nuns was so costly yet the state had now turned the
church resources into spying devices onto the church. He added that the
believers were getting scared of going for Holy Communion or Eucharist
for fear that the bread may be laced. “Training a priest is very
expensive and takes a lot of time. I don’t see why Museveni uses priests
to satisfy his interests. Now he is using the resources of the church
to further his interests that is too much. And not only that, I know
well that if an intelligence officer messes up, he is killed does he
want to kill our priests?” Ssempala Kigozi said. The MPs said that
if an independent commission of inquiry headed by some of the retired
judges in the country is not instituted to investigate Bishop Lwanga’s
submissions, they have the capacity to do their own investigations. “We
don’t want this matter to reach the extent where the [Bishop
Janan]Luwum-Amin saga reached. Where the archbishop was killed because
of the misinformation given to Amin. We have heard that the president
has talked to bishop on phone but that is not enough. This is something
which touches our faith and we need explanation,” Nambooze said. “He
wants our religious leaders to reach a situation and ask for security
so that the UPDF reserve force [crime preventers] of [Blaise] Kamugisha
get jobs of admitting and denying admission of members into church the
way it has happened with the Muslim sheikhs,” Nambooze added. The
legislators said they were to do more research into the bishop’s
submissions over spies and the recent attacks by one Hebert Kaddu on
Church of Uganda bishop Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira before coming up with
a comprehensive motion to be tabled before parliament.
During Easter prayers, a man identified Kaddu clad in backcloth, with
a big stick ran towards, the altar where Bishop Luwalira was conducting
service.
“If the report does not come out, we shall make our own report
because we have the capacity to make our report. We shall present our
facts, government will present their lies and we see what to do [in
parliament,]” Ssempala said.
According to the MPs, the attempted
attack on Bishop Luwalira was demonstration by the state to the clergy
that can pick them even from the altar and if need be, harm them as
well.
“I am a victim of grenade attack in September last year but up to now
there is not even a provisional report about the attack but with Kaddu,
the incident happened on Sunday and the following holiday Easter Monday
police was ready with the report to tell the world everything about
that man,” Kasibante wondered.
“We suspect this is a gimmick to
cause panic among our religious leaders such that they can be subjected
to state surveillance because they will have no option to ask any kind
of protection. Now every bishop is going to be accorded spies in the
names of security. As we talk of this physical security, their integrity
is all gone,” Kasibante said.
AUDIO: We’re not plotting to overthrow Museveni, says Archbishop Lwanga
The Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese, Dr
Cyprian Kizito Lwanga has downplayed reports that he is plotting to
overthrow President Museveni.
Dr Lwanga's comments were
in reference to a phone call he received from an anonymous person
indicating that the state had received information linking him to a plot
to overthrow the government. The caller reportedly told him that
government had recruited informants within the church set up, who had
given information to the president on the alleged plot.
Dr Lwanga said a lot of misleading information is passed to the
President by politicians, businessmen, civil servants, police officers,
Internal Security Organization and the Chieftaincy of Military
Intelligence (CMI) among others.
He was speaking to a
congregation at Old Kampala Playgrounds where thousands converged for
holy mass, after taking part in the ecumenical public way of the cross,
an annual procession held in the simulation of the journey of Jesus to
the place of his crucifixion.
He said the anonymous caller warned
him to be careful, saying he might be the next Janan Luwum, the former
Archbishop of Church of Uganda, who was killed by government operatives
on February 16, 1977.
Archbishop Lwanga, who expressed shock at
claims that he wants to overthrow government appealed to the informants
to stop telling the President lies.
The Archbishop, who described
the misleading information as unfortunate and terrible, told Mr Museveni
that he was recruiting wrong people as informants.
Dr Lwanga said some of the informants were dismissed from the Church and now shine as saints before the president.
He
appealed to President Museveni to reach out and find out the truth. He
also asked the President to be kind enough and tell them the Church
leaders he has recruited in ISO, ESO or CMI. Lwanga, who doubles as the
Chairperson of Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC), told the recruited
clergy that they cannot serve in the church and security.
Friday's
joint prayers were held under the theme "Courage, the Lord is our
strength and guide". They were attended by the Archbishop Church of
Uganda Stanley Ntagali, Bishop Hannington Mutebi of Kampala Diocese and
Father Emmanuel Ssekyewa of the Orthodox Church among others.
