With two months to this year’s Martyrs’ Day celebrations at the Namugongo Martyrs Shrine, the fundraising drive by the Anglican church to prepare for the day is in high gear.
This year, the four dioceses of Kigezi, North Kigezi, Muhabura and Kinkiizi will be leading the June 3 service at the Namugongo Martyrs Anglican shrine.
In the lead up to the day, resources are being mobilized by the steering committee chaired by Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda to ensure that everything goes as planned.
June 3 commemorates the killing of 23 Anglican and 22 Catholic Christian converts who died for their faith in the 1880s on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga of Buganda.
On Sunday, All Saints Cathedral Kampala held a special service led by Bishops from the Greater Kigezi subregion to reflect on the significance of the Uganda martyrs but also raise the Shs 525 million required for the celebrations.
The service was led by Bishops; Rt Rev Cranmer Mugisha (Muhabura), Rt Rev George Bagamuhunda (Kigezi), Rt Rev Dan Zoreka (Kinkiizi) and Rt Rev Benon Magezi (North Kigezi).
According to Prime Minister, Dr Rugunda, a sum of Shs 350 million has already been pledged by various individuals including government officials, politicians, the clergy and other well wishers. Each of the four dioceses in Greater Kigezi has also contributed Shs 20 million.
“We have had 2 months of intense work. We have a budget of Shs 525 million and we are short of Shs 180 million. However, we are confident that we shall meet our target and that Namugongo will be a success,” the Prime Minister said at the event.
During the service, an additional sum of close to Shs 70 million was mobilized in cash and pledges.
Former MP for Rukiga, Manzi Tumubweine who heads Finance on the Steering Committee said that about 10,000 people are expected to attend the celebrations at the Anglican shrine and that this will require significant resources.
The budget will cater for among others food, public address system, security, children’s welfare, accommodation, tents, seats.
Tumubweine noted that the absence of a continuous structure responsible for steering the annual planning has made preparations a tedious task.
Speaking about the significance of the martyrs, the Prime Minister said that; “Namugongo means a lot to the church but also government. It encapsulates the politics and history of Uganda”..
“We think Namugongo is a major centre of pilgrimage and faith based tourism. People from across the world including diginitaries and Popes have come in to visit Namugongo. We want to give it the dignity it deserves,” he said.
Rugunda called for sufficient investment into Namugongo to make it a centre of attraction.
Sunday’s event was attended largely by the community from districts that make up Kigezi, including Finance Minister, David Bahati, serving and former legislators, the clergy and other Christians.