Hon Haruna Kyeyune Kasoro addresses media and other stake holders at Emmanuel Cathedral Church in Kiruhura district, western Uganda on 2 July, 2020. COURTESY PHOTO.
Christians have expressed concern over government’s decision to consider a Church building in Kiruhura district restricted from holding in-person prayer services over the Covid-19 outbreak suitable for political activity.
On 3 July, 2020, a local broadcaster in Kazo Subcounty, Kiruhura District, western Uganda published a brief report saying the Minister of state for microfinance Hon Haruna Kyeyune Kasoro presided over the official launch of the new presidential initiative on wealth and job creation at Emmanuel Cathedral Church on 2 July.
The 100 billion Shillings project run under the Microfinance Support Centre targets organized business groups of women and youths mainly in the informal sector.
It’s also aimed at enhancing socio-economic transformation from a subsistence to market-oriented economy.
Emmanuel Cathedral, like all places of worship across the country, shut down in March following President Yoweri Museveni’s strict directives aimed at slowing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On their part, officials from Stop Religious Oppression In Uganda, a movement whose concern is the rights of Christians, issued a statement calling government’s action “despicable.”
“Isn’t this tyranny at its worst, that we can have church opened for a political gathering and not prayers and worship?,” they said.
A number of Christian leaders have called for the reopening of places of worship and urged the government to recognise that churches can play an important role in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many said the government’s decision to close churches because it considers them ‘high risk’ social gatherings was discriminatory.
Dr Abed Bwanika noted that churches are institutions with laid- down administrative structures to govern their operations and are capable of observing Standard operating procedure issued by the Ministry of Health.
Like other churches all across the globe, Christian leaders in Uganda are currently using social media and other forums to deliver sermons to their members as well to educate them on how to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
