Jackson Omona, the chairperson of the local organizing committee of the St. Janani Luwum memorial, told Uganda Radio Network that the decision was made during a meeting between the local and national organizing committee of the celebration on Tuesday this week.
The commemoration of St. Janani Luwum Day will be conducted
both scientifically and physically, the local and national organizing committees
of the event have decided.
The day commemorated every year on February 16, is dedicated to the life and service of Janani
Luwum, the former archbishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and
Boga-Zaire, one of the most influential leaders of
the modern church in Africa and a leading voice in criticizing
the excesses of Idi Amin's regime
He was killed on February 16, 1977, shortly after
delivering a note of protest to Amin against arbitrary killings and
unexplained disappearances of civilians and soldiers. Shortly
afterwards, the Archbishop and other leading churchmen were accused of
being agents of the exiled former president Milton Obote, and for
planning to stage a coup.
The next day, Radio Uganda announced that Luwum and
three others, among them two
government ministers; Charles Oboth Ofumbi and Lt. Col. Erinayo Oryema,
had died in an accident in Kampala. In his memory, thousands of
pilgrims from across the country trek to Wii Gweng in the Mucwini
sub-county, in the Kitgum district, where St.
Janani Loum was buried.
The
pilgrimage preceding the annual St Janani Luwum Day aims at tracing
Janani Luwum’s final journey from
Kampala to his gravesite in Mucwini, Kitgum district. But this year,
because of the restrictions that came with the spread of COVID-19,
authorities have taken a decision to split the event, to avoid having
people crowded in one place.
Jackson Omona, the chairperson of the local organizing committee
of the St. Janani Luwum memorial, told Uganda Radio Network that the decision was
made during a meeting between the local and national organizing committee of the
celebration on Tuesday this week.
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Besides the two major events, each of the 37 dioceses of
the Church of Uganda will be expected to celebrate the event from their own diocese. However, Omona says this year, pilgrims will be restricted to
between 1000-2000 only and all will be from within the district. He says this
is to ensure that people follow the Standard Operating Procedures of fighting
coronavirus.
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Omona says there are a few activities such as pilgrimage and
sharing the word of God among Christians, but all will be restricted to areas
near the site of the event at Wii Gweng.
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The theme of this year’s celebration is; “Hope beyond affliction,”
and it was taken from the book of Lamentations 3:21-25.
