Bishops at Church of Uganda retire at 65 years. Bishop Zac Niringiye took an early retirement in June 2012, seven years before his scheduled retirement. Born on April 30, 1954 in Kisoro, he was consecrated Kampala assistant bishop in January 2005 at the age of 51.
In a letter that addressed his retirement to the Church, Bishop Niringiye said he would be retiring to advocate for “peace, justice and better leadership in this country”.
Since then,he has been a superior activism brand, transparent on social media, frank in stating one’s opinions, especially if they are critical or controversial on several media houses.
At one moment of February 2013, Niringiye and eight other campaigners were arrested by the police at Makerere University for allegedly distributing pamphlets calling for an end to high-level corruption. The group was later released on bond.
Later the same year in April, The president advised the retired bishop severally to fight HIV/Aids among his flock instead of lecturing to him about politics and term limits.
Government sources that were familiar with the bishop’s case, said the cleric was at that time denied a visa to travel to Ethiopia where he was expected to present a report about Uganda’s governance record
When asked, Niringiye told The Observer reporters that it was not true that he had been denied a visa, “The reason I didn’t go to Ethiopia is because the government didn’t want me to be included in the delegation. The president for reasons I don’t know didn’t want me to travel,”
Civil society organisations and the opposition have found the articulate man of God strong at addressing corrupt practices within the country and has been at the forefront of advocating for transparency and accountability , a case in point being the 2016 presidential elections
For many, this is considered too political of a retired bishop.
In an interview with Benon Herbert Oluka of the Observer this week, he re-affirmed that his early retirement was not a departure from his call to follow Jesus, to serve the Lord and his Church.
“…it is very clear that the gospel is about justice; it is about salvation, which is about human flourishing and, indeed, the flourishing of all of creation. So, anything that goes against all that, God abhors,” he stated.
“Now, serving as assistant Bishop of Kampala, I did that and, as you know, I was chair of the Africa Peer Review Mechanism for about four years. So, I was engaged in efforts and initiatives for advocating for and ensuring good governance, accountable leadership and fighting corruption. But it wasn’t something that I gave my full-time attention to because, in addition to all that, I was engaged with civil society,”
Christians are increasingly aware that the church has a political image problem, and are increasingly eager to repair it. For many, political consciousness is being cultivated in the church itself. Is the bishop’s ongoing mission worth a cause for retirement?
“Have I failed? Absolutely not. The day I stop following Jesus is the day I will have failed. I am following Jesus and I am seeking to do God’s will every day. It is a journey. I am not finished until I leave this earth. It is at that moment that [anyone] can look back to, and history will be able to judge,” he further told the reporter.
editor@ugchristiannews.com
