The Catholic Diocese of Kasese was this year selected to animate Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations at the Catholic Shrine in Namugongo on June 3, marking a historic return after nearly two decades. However, this year’s celebration was later postponed after President Museveni announced the outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease when the diocese was in the final preparation stages. The Diocese of Kasese, under the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Mbarara, is one of the four metropolitan archdioceses in Uganda. The last time the Kasese Diocese animated the annual pilgrimage celebrations was in 2005.
The Uganda Episcopal Conference entrusted the organisation of this year’s celebrations to the Archdiocese of Mbarara, which in turn selected Kasese Diocese to take charge on behalf of the province that also comprises the dioceses of Fort Portal, Hoima, and Kabale. Of these, Fort Portal Diocese was the most recent to animate the celebrations in 2022. For many faithfuls in Kasese Diocese, this year’s opportunity to animate the national celebration is both historic and spiritual. That is especially because Bishop Emeritus Egidio Nkaijanabwo, who led the 2005 celebrations, is still alive to witness his successor preside over the same sacred occasion. The diocese had adopted the theme: ‘Christ is Alive in You and Me’ drawn from Galatians 2:19-20, which was to guide pilgrims and worshippers throughout the celebrations.
Diocese roots Rev Fr Landus Bwambale, the Vicar General of Kasese Diocese, said when the diocese was established in 1989, it had only nine indigenous priests serving alongside Bishop Nkaijanabwo and six missionary priests from the White Fathers congregation.
Today, the number of diocesan priests has grown to more than 70. He explained that the diocese currently has 13 parishes and two pastoral centres. Fr Bwambale also dismissed claims that evangelisation in Kasese originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying the Catholic faith instead spread from Mbarara Archdiocese, specifically through Lugazi Parish in Bunyaruguru, where people from Kasese used to cross for catechism classes.
‘The priest in charge of the parish, Fr Yohana Balyebuga, later crossed to Kasese in the 1930s and established the Church at Nsenyi. This became the first Catholic church in Kasese District,’ he said. Fr Bwambale added that the first residential catechumen at Nsenyi was Augustino Muhindo, who was baptised in 1939 and later became the first Mukonzo Catholic priest after his ordination in 1958. ‘He is well remembered in our diocese for spreading the Catholic faith. He endured the difficult mountainous terrain of Kasese and established many local churches at the time. Present-day Kasese Diocese was still under the Tooro Kingdom, and the king had already embraced Christianity,’ he said.
He further explained that after the government created Kasese District in 1974, residents began demanding for the separation of Kasese from Fort Portal Diocese, which was then under the leadership of Bishop Sarpio Magambo. ‘Around the 1980s, we experienced insurgency in this area. Many people lost their lives and there was a lot of confusion, making it difficult for Bishop Magambo to frequently cross to Kasese,’ Fr Bwambale said.