Rwenzori diocese gets new bishop
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has said the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader Joseph Kony is possessed by demons which need to be cast out of him.
By Raymond Baguma
and Hope Mafaranga
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has said the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader Joseph Kony is possessed by demons which need to be cast out of him.
He also said peace talks alone could not work with a demonic man and that was why it was necessary to attack the LRA in DR Congo.
Museveni said the LRA rebels could not return to cause terror in Uganda because the UPDF was strong and had pacified the northern region as well as Karamoja.
He added that the challenge was now to assist the people of ongo and Sudan to deal with the marauding rebels.
He was chief guest at the consecration of the new bishop of Rwenzori Diocese, Patrick Kyaligonza, yesterday. Kyaligonza replaced the retired bishop Benezeri Kisembo.
Museveni said although he was an amateur preacher; he recalls an incident in the Bible when Jesus cast demons out a possessed man and cast them into pigs, which drowned in Lake Galilee.
“The ghosts in Kony cannot go peacefully. That is why we must do all that is possible to get them out of him,†he said.
Museveni was responding to a plea by the Church of Uganda archbishop, Luke Orombi, to the Government not to give up on the peace talks with the LRA.
Orombi said the terror that the LRA unleashed on the Sudanese and Congolese, had affected the way the neighbouring countries perceive Ugandans.
“I was in Yei last week and I heard the tragic stories of atrocities committed on our brothers and sisters of southern Sudan. Please, do not give up on the peace talks and this is within your calling,†Orombi urged the President.
Ugandan forces attacked Kony on December 14 in a joint operation with DR Congo and Southern Sudan, after the rebel leader repeatedly failed to sign a peace agreement already inked by Kampala in April 2008.
The coalition forces are yet to locate Kony, who along with his two deputies is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The AFP news agency on Friday reported that Uganda would pull its troops out of Congo at the end of this month. Estimated at between 800 and 1,000 fighters, the LRA has now split into smaller groups.
Some are believed to be heading towards the Central African Republic, where the rebels have carried out raids in the past.
The LRA was driven out of northern Uganda, where its two-decade bush war killed thousands of people and displaced two million.
The consecration at St. John’s cathedral in Fort portal town was attended by several bishops
They included Bishop John Guernsey, who heads the American congregations that broke away from the Episcopal Church of America in protest against consecrating an openly gay bishop.
Museveni asked religious leaders to help the Government fight poverty by preaching to the people to embrace commercial farming.
He said the Government had identified Rwengaju parish in Burahya county, Kabarole district as a model village for fighting poverty under the Prosperity for All programme.
Museveni expressed happiness that the income of 500 families had been boosted in Rwengaju, from the initial seven families.
Museveni contributed sh10 million to the consecration ceremony and pledged to provide a vehicle for the new bishop.
While unveiling his plan for the diocese, Kyaligonza said there was need to train the clergy in other fields outside theology such as health, agriculture and education.
The bishop also said he would put the church land to good use and maximise communication to build strong relationships within and outside the diocese.
He also highlighted the need to address the HIV challenge in Fort Portal.
He said the church would partner with the Government to fight HIV/AIDS, promote chastity among the youth and fidelity in couples and encourage prayer to heal the sick.
and Hope Mafaranga
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has said the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader Joseph Kony is possessed by demons which need to be cast out of him.
He also said peace talks alone could not work with a demonic man and that was why it was necessary to attack the LRA in DR Congo.
Museveni said the LRA rebels could not return to cause terror in Uganda because the UPDF was strong and had pacified the northern region as well as Karamoja.
He added that the challenge was now to assist the people of ongo and Sudan to deal with the marauding rebels.
He was chief guest at the consecration of the new bishop of Rwenzori Diocese, Patrick Kyaligonza, yesterday. Kyaligonza replaced the retired bishop Benezeri Kisembo.
Museveni said although he was an amateur preacher; he recalls an incident in the Bible when Jesus cast demons out a possessed man and cast them into pigs, which drowned in Lake Galilee.
“The ghosts in Kony cannot go peacefully. That is why we must do all that is possible to get them out of him,†he said.
Museveni was responding to a plea by the Church of Uganda archbishop, Luke Orombi, to the Government not to give up on the peace talks with the LRA.
Orombi said the terror that the LRA unleashed on the Sudanese and Congolese, had affected the way the neighbouring countries perceive Ugandans.
“I was in Yei last week and I heard the tragic stories of atrocities committed on our brothers and sisters of southern Sudan. Please, do not give up on the peace talks and this is within your calling,†Orombi urged the President.
Ugandan forces attacked Kony on December 14 in a joint operation with DR Congo and Southern Sudan, after the rebel leader repeatedly failed to sign a peace agreement already inked by Kampala in April 2008.
The coalition forces are yet to locate Kony, who along with his two deputies is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The AFP news agency on Friday reported that Uganda would pull its troops out of Congo at the end of this month. Estimated at between 800 and 1,000 fighters, the LRA has now split into smaller groups.
Some are believed to be heading towards the Central African Republic, where the rebels have carried out raids in the past.
The LRA was driven out of northern Uganda, where its two-decade bush war killed thousands of people and displaced two million.
The consecration at St. John’s cathedral in Fort portal town was attended by several bishops
They included Bishop John Guernsey, who heads the American congregations that broke away from the Episcopal Church of America in protest against consecrating an openly gay bishop.
Museveni asked religious leaders to help the Government fight poverty by preaching to the people to embrace commercial farming.
He said the Government had identified Rwengaju parish in Burahya county, Kabarole district as a model village for fighting poverty under the Prosperity for All programme.
Museveni expressed happiness that the income of 500 families had been boosted in Rwengaju, from the initial seven families.
Museveni contributed sh10 million to the consecration ceremony and pledged to provide a vehicle for the new bishop.
While unveiling his plan for the diocese, Kyaligonza said there was need to train the clergy in other fields outside theology such as health, agriculture and education.
The bishop also said he would put the church land to good use and maximise communication to build strong relationships within and outside the diocese.
He also highlighted the need to address the HIV challenge in Fort Portal.
He said the church would partner with the Government to fight HIV/AIDS, promote chastity among the youth and fidelity in couples and encourage prayer to heal the sick.