Christ the King Church choir makes 90 years

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Christ the King Church Choir, which leads the singing during the 10 O’clock Sunday mass at Christ the King Church, Kampala, has made 90 years since its inception.

The anniversary celebrations were launched at the church’s community centre in Kampala on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. The function was presided over by the church’s parish-priest and Vicar General of Kampala Archdiocese, the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Gerald Kalumba.

The parish-priest of Christ the King Church Kampala, Msgr. Gerald Kalumba delivers his thanksgiving speech during the launching of the celebrations of the 90th anniversary of Christ the King Church Choir on May 20, 2026. (Photo by Mathias Mazinga)

The function was also witnessed by a good number of people who included the church’s parishioners and friends of the choir. The Goan community was also effectively represented by Savio Martins, a parishioner and friend of the choir.

Delivering his speech during the function, Msgr. Kalumba congratulated Christ the king Church Choir for its nine-decade dynamic musical ministry at the church. He put it to them to remain focused to the authentic objectives of the choir’s pioneer founders.

“Your voices have contributed greatly to the growth of the spiritual life of the people that associate with Christ the King Church. You help your fellow Christians to worship God better. Your ministry helps us to pray twice. People enjoy your music and talents. And your ministry is a voluntary one! You dedicate your precious time. You meet your transport costs. We thank you.”

“Please continue that legacy of commitment. Do what you came for, that is, assisting fellow Christians to sing in liturgy. Other things are secondary. So, please, do that ministry with love and commitment. Love one another. If anything goes wrong, reconcile. Be ever ready to forgive each other. Don’t do things that scandalise people and send them away from the Church. The Catholic Church is good. She wants everybody to be saved, that is why we have the sacraments,” Kalumba said.

The reigning Chairman of the choir, Felix Nsiimoomwe, announced December 13 and December 20^th (2026) as the dates for the climax of the celebrations of the choir’s 90^th anniversary. The musical fete will be at Sheraton Kampala Hotel and Christ the King Church, Kampala, respectively.

Nsiimoomwe also highlighted a number of proposed precursor activities. They include visual/written documentary titled “Voices through the age,” street hymnal performances, community service, gifts to the community, community Sundays (where by the community will step into the shoes of the choir during mass), formation of an affiliate children’s choir (Christ the King Church Choir academy) and recruitment of new young members, among other things.

He said the celebrations would run under the theme: In harmony with the community for the greater glory of God.

“We have realised much more than ever that the choir cannot minister in isolation from the community, which is why we have tailored all our celebrations to community engagement. We want to reconnect with the community. We have also acknowledged that the choir will not end with us, which is why we have decided to start a children’s choir and also to recruit new young members as one of the projects of our celebration.”

“We thank God for our ministry, for our departed and living choristers. We pledge to continue doing our ministry with excellence and strengthen the liturgical music ministry. We pay tribute to our parish priest, Msgr.  Gerald Kalumba, his predecessors and all the curates. They have been very supportive to us. They have given us an enabling environment to do our ministry. We promise to continue working together in harmony as members of the choir and the church’s choirs’ association. Yes, we shall remain united in the service of the church and the community.” Nsiimoomwe said.

Mildred’s Counsel

One of the interesting highlights of the function was the moving testimony by soprano Mildred Warugaba Ssentoogo, currently the oldest member of the choir, who has ministered with it for 51 years.

Soprano Mildred Warugaba Ssentoogo delivers her testimony during the function. (Photo by Mathias Mazinga)

Warugaba put it to fellow chorister to assimilate the fact that their musical ministry was a voluntary one and called for a deep sense of the values of sacrifice, dedication and obedience to established ecclesial authorities.

“Ninety years of ministry is a great milestone. We have an uphill task of keeping the legacy of our predecessors.  A lot is expected of us. We should lift the bar even higher for others to emulate. We have no choice but to do certain things differently and better. We also have to understand the importance and role of the church choir in relation to the Catholic Church, which is formal and structured,” she said.

Warugaba said by the time she joined the choir in 1976, there were no phones, but they would not miss out at the rehearsals.  They were also decent in every aspect: speech, dress code, etc. They did not backbite each other or bring in public the issues they left at home. She said such values were still relevant.

 “My desire is for the choir to grow spiritually and in numbers,” she said.

She later paid tribute to the deceased members of the choir, including the legendary organist and hymnodist Valerian Mayega, choral conductor Patrick Mberenge, organist Tony Ssengo, organist Tony Muyingo, chorister Tobias Mutebi and music director Canis Mulindwa, just to name a few.

The Goan community representative, Savio Martins, thanked the leaders of the choir and the parish-priest, Msgr. Gerald Kalumba for recognising their contribution to the church and the choir, and also for involving them in the celebrations.

The representative of the Goan-Indian community, Savio Martins, delivers his thanksgiving remarks during the function. (Photo by Mathias Mazinga)

As an act of launching the celebrations, Msgr. Kalumba unveiled the jubilee logo after which he appended his signature on its board.

The church has been in the Christian serenading ministry since 1936. Records of the church indicate that the choir initially comprised expatriates from Goa, India, whose community members were then the church’s principal parishioners.

At the expulsion of the foreign expatriates by President Idi Amin in the 70s, the choir recruited native Ugandan choristers through its pioneer native Ugandan organist and music director, the late Valerian Mayega (dd 1990).

Christ the King Church Choir in action during the launching of their 90th anniversary celebrations at the Church in Kampala on May 20, 2026. (Photo by Mathias Mazinga)

Further to ministering at Christ the King Church in Kampala on Sunday, the Choir has also, over the years, given choral musical performances abroad, in countries such as Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Rwanda, Kenya, and South Africa.