Dr Joseph Serwadda speaks during the 3rd National Day of Prayer for the global COVID-19 pandemic at the State House on 29 August, 2020. Photo/PPU.
Dr Joseph Serwadda on Saturday re-echoed the need for Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni to lift the ban on places of worship.
This time around, the Victory Church (Ndeeba) founder made the appeal right before the Head of State when he hosted various church and government leaders for the 3rd National Day of Prayer against COVID-19 at the State House.
“For the last 30 days the religious leaders have traversed the breadth of this nation. We have coached, oriented, trained, sensitized all our leaders in our structures, way down to the grassroots. We have an olive branch in our hands, and we can authoritatively say it is now partly safe to step out, with caution,” Dr Serwadda said.
He explained that the Born Again Faith Uganda has reached 18,044 pastors face to face in a bid to sensitive them on safe resumption of congressional worship amid COVID-19. “These pastors are now waiting for the lifting of the lockdown,” he told the President .
“By all indications, there is life out there now, nothing to fear at all. God is still on our side, and if He is, who can be against us,” he added.
“We have reports that all places of worship can now ably manage to conduct services during Covid and beyond,” Dr Serwadda told the President. “Today’s prayer call, which you personally made, is most significant to this nation because we have the same witness, that it is now the right time to call off the lockdown.”
Churches have been under lock and key for over 5 months now. The country recorded its highest single-day infections of 308 last Saturday.
On his official Twitter handle on Thursday, President Museveni said he arrived at the decision of calling for a national day for prayer after an unnamed individual approached him with a vision from God with instructions that he organises the event.
“A certain Ugandan came to me and told me that God had told him in a vision that I should organise national prayers, scientifically organised, for God to deliver us from Covid-19,” Mr Museveni said.
“Therefore, by the powers given to the President of Uganda by Section 2(2) of the Public Holidays Act, I declare the 29th of August 2020, a day of National Prayers and a Public Holiday. Stay in your houses or compounds and pray,” he added.
Uganda has cumulative confirmed coronavirus cases of 2,847 as at 29 August with one deaths bringing the total of fatalities to 29.
Those who have recovered are 1,288, according to the Health ministry.
