Rebecca Kadaga's lapse and a call for repentance

Jun 10, 2016

There is no spirited defence that can be made to justify the act as a tourism promotion event

By Rt. Rev. Dr. Fred Sheldon Mwesigwa

It is not characteristic for a religious leader to publicly critique the action of a high profile political leader or an ordinary Christian, as was the case with Archbishop Ntagali's opinion in one daily of May 27.

The response by His Grace Stanley Ntagali and the myriad opinions in press and other forums since the unfortunate incident was occasioned by the Speaker of Parliament, Rebbeca Kadaga who, in full glare of cameras and cheered by a crowd, perhaps the majority Beise Igaga clan, attended a traditional thanksgiving ceremony. 

The public appearance in an official car with Uganda's flag flying high rendered the incident a public affair that could not escape scrutiny. I received a WhatsApp video clip from a politician, who was deeply troubled and wanted my counsel on what the Church leadership thought about the incident.

When I viewed the video, I was astonished by the contents. Kadaga was shown climbing the Nenda hill, a rather steep hill until she reached a large rock, knelt before it and the rest could not be figured out.

Nevertheless before her arrival the video showed an eldery man perhaps a priest of the clan preparing a brown calabash, into which an offertory was later put or probably other rituals performed.

Upon fulfilling the rituals and reaching the foot of the hill, a journalist must have asked a question that riled Kadaga since she cut in and said, ‘Ani atayina gyava (who doesn't have ancestry), I am proud of my roots, I have come to say thank you to my ancestors, to tell them I won the post of speaker of Parliament.' 

In tandem with Kadaga, a clan leader or priest who was following her was interviewed and he said, ‘Aze kwebaza empeewo zaffe ezekkika (She has come to thank our spirits)'. Another unidentified voice remarked, ‘Aze kwebazza baddaddabe (She has come to thank her parents).

A dissection of the act including the rituals and what was said leads us to draw a conclusion that this was an act of worship since there was an object of worship, a worshipper, rituals and clan priests with religious garb, embugo (bark cloth)!

There is no spirited defence that can be made to justify the act as a tourism promotion event or a visit to a site of historical and cultural importance. The onus is upon Rt. Hon Kadaga to seek a deeper self-examination of her Christian commitment and choose whom she prefers to serve whether the Lord God or the gods of her ancestors (Joshua 24: 15).

The beauty of the Christian faith is that we have a forgiving God to whom even high profile King David after his adultery and even killing Bathsheba's husband went to ask for forgiveness and was forgiven ( 2 Sammuel 12).

What Rt. Hon Kadaga needs to appreciate is that nobody is righteous and none of us would stand if the Lord kept a record of our wrongs (Psalm 130:1) but if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us all our sins (1 John 1: 8).

The provincial canons of the province of the Church of Uganda prescribe in Canon 2: 28.1 that there needs be reconciliation with the Church for those who have lapsed and ordinarily even sacraments like Holy Communion are not administered till one puts right.

My prayer is that Rt. Hon Kadaga will not miss the opportunity to repent after all she is a passionate Christian who is on record to have defended the faith in the wake of the anti-homosexuality bill when some of her colleagues either played it safe while others connived with the promoters of homosexuality. 

The writer is the Bishop, Ankole Diocese

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