The Apostolic Administrator of Kampala Archdiocese, the Rt Rev Bishop Paul Ssemwogere, has asked government officials to exercise utmost patriotism when dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

He expressed concern that many Ugandans were shunning the vaccination exercise out of fear of being injected with fake vaccines. 

A spectacle of some of the mourners after the requiem mass at Rubaga Cathedral

He thus urged the ministry of health to ensure that all Ugandans are vaccinated with genuine vaccines.

 He also asked those who are entrusted with COVID funds, both from the government and the international community, not to swindle the money but to put it to its due use. 

Ssemwogerere also called for communal charity.

Bishop Paul Ssemwogerere (centre) presiding over the requiem mass for Regina Mukiibi at Rubaga Cathedral on

He said the more privileged Ugandans should help the less privileged ones, instead of waiting for government aid which often never comes.

Ssemwogerere was presiding over the requiem mass of Regina Mukiibi Mugongo at Rubaga Cathedral on Friday, July 9.

Delivering the eulogy of the deceased during the same function, Entrepreneur Emmanuel Katongole, appealed to Ugandans to wear masks all the time as a way of checking the spread of the virus.

“Coronavirus will finish us if we don’t become serious. Don’t despise the mask. It is effective in stopping infections. People remove their masks when they are given the microphone at functions. Microphones have been proven to be super-spreaders of COVID. You can still be audible even with your mask on. We now have more complicated variants, such as alpha and delta. So, let’s be extra vigilant,” Katongole warned.

A spectacle of the convoy of funeral vans that accompanied Regina Mukiibi's casket from Rubaga Cathedral to Kitemu

Mukiibi , 68, was the founding proprietor of Uganda Funeral Services, the pioneer funeral home in Uganda (1996). 

She succumbed to COVID-19 at Entebbe International Airport on June 29, as she was being air-lifted to Nairobi Hospital for more specialized treatment.

 Grandiose Motor Convoy

After the funeral mass, Mukiibi’s casket was driven to her home in Kitemu (Masaka Road), in a grandiose convoy of funeral vans from over 30 funeral service companies. 

The convoy was organized by the proprietors of the companies as a gesture of gratitude to Mukiibi for pioneering professional funeral services. 

Papal Knights Emmanuel Katongole (left) and Anthony Mateega carrying their wreath

The deceased will be buried today (Saturday, July 10) at her home in Kitemu.