The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs Janet Museveni, has urged Ugandans to speak up for what is right and defend family values.

Mrs Museveni said Ugandans must, among other things, speak out against harmful foreign beliefs and practices that weaken and jeopardise the institution of marriage and the family.

Mrs Museveni made the call during the golden jubilee celebrations for Pastor Nicholas and Elizabeth Wafula on Saturday at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala, where she was the chief guest.

(L-R) Pastor Nicholas Wafula and his wife, Elizabeth pos for group pictures with The First lady Janet Kataaha Museveni and Pastor Titus Oundo best man and Bulandina Kalebbo matron. (Photo by Ramadhan Abbey)

The First Lady also asked Ugandans to ensure that they defend the family as the foundation of society, as well as raise children to honour the written word of God. Mrs Museveni asked people to raise children in a way that upholds biblical principles.

“My prayer is that we shall each heed the clarion call to stand up for the family. All of us should know that the protection of the family is vital to the stability of society,” she said.

Mrs Museveni urged the people to remain steadfast in proclaiming God’s mandate for the family, to be fruitful to multiply and fill the earth. She re-affirmed the Government’s commitment to this cause and appealed to Ugandans to stick to what God has ordained.

“I recently met Sharon Slater, the president of Family Watch International. She has done immense research and work defending the family. During our meeting, we discussed the significance of safeguarding our African culture and family values against the emerging harmful practices that threaten to undermine and destroy the family,” she said.

The First Lady said Slater’s book, titled Stand for the Family, which she said she has been reading, opened her eyes to the wicked agenda that is literally working to undermine what matters most — the traditional family.

During the function, the couple also renewed their vows.

The Wafulas (front) during their 50th wedding anniversary celebrations on Saturday

The event was attended by dignitaries from the African continent and Europe. The executive director of Kampala Capital City Authority, Dorothy Kisaka, and Justice Irene Mulyagonja, a justice of the Court of Appeal, also attended the event.

WAFULAS COMMENDED

Married on April 28, 1973, the Wafulas were among the founding leaders of the Deliverance Church of Uganda. As part of the founding team of Deliverance Church of Uganda, Mrs Museveni commended them for the great work throughout the country, especially during what she described as “the dark days” of president Idi Amin.

“You did this during the darkest days of our nation, the Idi Amin era, and you did not give up,” she said.

According to statistics shared by Mrs Museveni, the Deliverance Church has since set up over 1,000 churches across the country.

“That is great work and it is testimony that you have laid a good foundation, building on the eternal foundation of our Lord Jesus Christ,” she said.

Mrs Museveni, who will also be celebrating a golden jubilee with President Museveni this year, urged Ugandans to learn from the Wafulas. The First Lady said there were many lessons from the Wafulas’ marriage.

“Never despise the day of small beginnings. Start where you are and with what you have, and watch the Lord walk with you. He will indeed bless you and supply all your needs,” she said.

She added: “Couples be a shelter to others, be generous, loving and giving, even giving sacrificially. It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Another lesson from the Wafulas, Mrs Museveni said, is that couples should not give up on each other.

“Do not despair in the first few years at the start of your journey. A home is built on love, but also with forgiveness and faithfulness. Hearts get broken but they mend. People make mistakes but they can be restored,” she said.

CLERGY COMMENT

In his sermon, Bishop JB Masinde from Nairobi urged people to always build their marriage on commitment, rather than feelings. Masinde said feelings can vanish anytime, but commitment lasts forever.

Bishop JB Masinde (in maroon jacket) from Nairobi, leading a prayer session for the Wafulas on their Golden Jubilie celebrations at Kololo Independence Grounds on Saturday. (Photo by Ramadhan Abbey)

He also said children are a gift from God, and therefore, they become products of the marriage not part of the marriage.

He cautioned couples against what he described as ‘outsourcing romance’ and pornography, adding that they should never look at divorce as a solution to any problem.

“If you think divorce will solve your problems, it will not. It sounds easy but it is hard. Divorce is life for those living in Hollywood. They divorce and remarry, again divorce. That is not right,” Masinde said.

THE WAFULAS

Nicholas Wafula said it has been God who has brought them this far, whereas Elizabeth thanked everyone who has stood with their family for all these years.

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“A three-stringed rope cannot be broken and, therefore, my one and only Queen Elizabeth (his wife), and I, had Jesus amidst us to make that threestringed rope that cannot be broken,” Wafula said.

He added that each of them adjusted to the life of the other in equal measure, adding that it explains why they have lived together for long — 50 years.