Parliament urged to tighten law against corruption

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Archbishop-elect of the Gulu Ecclesiastical Province Raphael P'mony Wokorach has urged the Parliament of Uganda to help the country prevail against corruption.

Speaking during the Uganda Martyrs Day celebration at the Uganda Catholic Martyrs Shrine at Namugongo, Wokorach said the legislators have a key role in making policy, urging them to play a role in ending corruption which he said has become a key national concern. 

Hailing Parliament for the recent big decision to tighten the legislation against homosexuality, Wokorach noted that "at the same time we know that signs of evil remain in our midst".

"How I wish the same policymakers take the same energy to shoot out corruption as well," he said. 

At the event on Monday, June 3, 2024, Wokorach, who was the main celebrant for this year's event, said this year's Martyrs Day anniversary comes at the time when Uganda is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the canonisation of the Uganda martyrs and the 145th anniversary of the arrival of Catholicism in Uganda.

"We thank God for the faith we are living today. Celebrating martyrs is an expression of God's goodness for Uganda," he said.

He urged the faithful to shun sin as the martyrs did, noting, for example, that Matia Mulumba decided to overcome the sin of adultery when he decided to stick to one woman and abandoned other women whom he had as wives when embraced Christianity.

He said Uganda martyrs took Christianity to shape their every decision. 

Akumu Catherine Mavenjina, the chairperson of the organising committee, said the biggest donor for organising these celebrations was President Kaguta Museveni and thanked him for giving shillings 1.5 billion which enabled "us to accomplish the task before us". 

She said the President also gave shillings 570 million to reconstruct the altar, the toilet, and bathrooms to accommodate sufficiently the number of people who come to the shrine.

The commemoration of Uganda Martyrs Day is held every June 3 in memory of a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity in the historical kingdom of Buganda. The converts were executed on the orders of the Kabaka (King) Mwanga between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887.

This year's ceremony at Namugongo in Wakiso district is being led by Nebbi Catholic Diocese, located in North Western Uganda, under the theme: “But as for me and My Household, We Shall Serve the Lord,” taken from Joshua 24:15.