The former vice-chancellor of Uganda Christian University, Mukono, the Rev. Canon Dr John Senyonyi, has questioned whether the schools are well-equipped to properly reintegrate young mothers into the classroom.

“Have they put in place counsellors to attend to the psychological needs of the young mothers? Won’t the separation of these young mothers from their babies affect the physical and emotional development of the babies? Do all these young mothers have parents with whom they will leave their babies when they go back to school? What about the set precedent? Is it not going to become a normal thing for pregnant pupils/students to study with the other students? Won’t the young mothers be more susceptible to sexual activities anyway?”

These are some of the concerns Senyonyi raised during the 4th General Assembly of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) at Hotel Africana in Kampala on Tuesday.

Senyonyi said many of the school-going mothers gave birth involuntarily.

“Some of the girls were raped by strangers, family friends and close relatives. Others were just having fun with their boyfriends and ended up getting pregnant. In any case, these young mothers are having psychological challenges as a result of their unpleasant experiences.

So, they need psycho-social support,” Senyonyi said.

He called upon IRCU leaders and stakeholders to ensure adequate preparation for the re-opening of schools, or else the exercise will become chaotic.

Senyonyi put it to the religious leaders to do more to strengthen the family institution, which he referred to as the source of values and virtues.

“The family plays a great role in forming communities and nations. It is the source of virtues and values. If the family is devoid of virtues and values, there cannot be social order and development,” Senyonyi said.

Other concerns Bishop Joshua Lwere, a co-president of IRCU, decried the persistent attempts by some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to impose Comprehensive Sexual Education Syllabus on Ugandans. He expressed regret that even after the planned syllabus had been thrown out with the help of Parliament, a certain NGO went to court and had it re-instated.

The Presiding Apostle of the Born-Again Faith, Dr Joseph Sserwadda, was even more emotional as he accused the respective judges of fighting the kingdom of God.

Earlier during the convention, the chairman of the IRCU Council of Presidents, the Anglican Archbishop Dr Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, lamented the re-emergence of social and economic calamities such as slave trade, health pandemics such as Ebola, malaria and polio, and asked religious leaders to act together to free the country from the same challenges.

Kaziimba later thanked President Museveni for his immense love and support to IRCU. He also thanked the development partners who have supported the organisation during the last two decades. Kaziimba also paid tribute to the founders of IRCU for their glorious vision of unity in diversity.

Earlier, the secretary-general of IRCU, Joshua Kitakule, briefed the delegates about the history and growth of the organisation.

The 4th General Assembly of the IRCU was one of the activities to mark 20 years of the organisation.

The function ran under the theme Inter-Religious Council of Uganda Celebrating 20 Years of Multi-Religious Collaboration; Building the Uganda we Want in the COVID-19 Era.