Nebbi foot pilgrims to reach Namugongo on Wednesday
May 25, 2024
Unlike the previous days when the pilgrims covered longer distances and at a quicker pace, they have had to cut their speed and are covering fewer kilometres.
Nebbi Catholic Diocese pilgrims, on their quest to Namugongo Catholic Shrine for the Martyrs Day Celebrations. (Photos by Deo Kyaligonza)
Hannington Mutabazi
Journalist @New Vision
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Nebbi Catholic Diocese pilgrims are on course to reach Namugongo Catholic Shrine in Wakiso district on Wednesday (May 29), according to Festo Thugitho, their deputy leader.
They are to spend Saturday night in Wobulenzi municipality in the Luwero district.
From there, the 500-plus-strong group will proceed to Bombo, also in Luwero, on Sunday.
Monday night will find them in Matugga in Wakiso district, with Kampala in sight. On Tuesday, the pilgrims will then proceed to Naguru, a suburb of Kampala city.
Finally, after days of exhausting walking from Nebbi district in Uganda's north, the determined group will make their grand entry into Namugongo on Wednesday.
They will stay there until June 3, the day of the Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations.
Schedule adjusted
Originally, the pilgrims had planned to arrive in Namugongo on Monday (May 27).
However, according to Thugitho, they had to reduce their speed because they were expected in Namugongo neither before nor later than May 29.
Unlike the previous days when the pilgrims covered longer distances and at a quicker pace, they have had to cut their speed and are covering fewer kilometres.
From Luwero, where they spent Friday night at St Kizito Kasana Luwero Diocese, they covered only 15 kilometres to Wobulenzi on Saturday, their resting point for the night.
They had departed from Luwero at around 8 am, later than usual, having always begun their treks at 6 am.
On their way to Wobulenzi, at about 10 am, they had a stopover at Emmaus Centre, Katikamu – Butanza. While there, their welfare team prepared tea and boiled cassava for breakfast for them.
After their meal, they proceeded and arrived at St Joseph’s Catholic Church Wobulenzi at around 1 pm. It is where they are to spend the night before resuming their journey on Sunday.
During the footslog, the tricycle of Eric Mungu Jabero, a pilgrim with a disability, broke down – for a second time since the journey started. This time, the chain broke. With the help of other pilgrims, he was able to fix it and resume cycling.
On the road, he was also blessed with money handouts by motorists who were driving in the opposite direction.
Now that Namugongo is a stone's throw away, the pilgrims can’t stop anticipating the day of their triumphal entry.
It may be a large group of weary bodies, but after covering over 300 kilometres from Nebbi, the pilgrims have maintained an air of excitement and determination to reach their final destination.
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