By Pauline Luba
“Beloved, you are most welcome to the House of Bishops and we look forward to your contribution to building God’s kingdom.”
These were the words the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda, Stephen Kaziimba, used as he welcomed the new Bishop of North Ankole, Alfred Muhoozi, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) alum, who had just been consecrated. The consecration was on May 26 in Kiruhura district, western Uganda.
Standing next to Molly, his wife with whom he has been married for 28 years, with four children, Muhoozi was introduced to thousands of the people who had gathered in Kiruhura to witness his consecration. He was assuming the office of the Bishop of North Ankole Diocese, succeeding Bishop Stephen Namanya who clocked retirement age. The retirement age for bishops of the Anglican Church in Uganda is 65 years.
Namanya has been at the helm of the 21-year-old diocese as its second bishop since 2015.
Muhoozi’s father — the late James Byempaka — could have been among the proudest of the people at the May 26 consecration of his son in a diocese where he (Byempaka) contributed immensely to the growth of evangelism. In 1976, agents linked to the Idi Amin-led Ugandan government at the time arrested Byempaka, and he was never seen again.
During his consecration, Muhoozi and his family, including their four children, received special prayers from the Anglican bishops who attended the event. Molly, on the other hand, received more blessings from the wives of bishops at the function as they welcomed her to their fraternity.
Kaziimba led the consecration ceremony of the 51-year-old Muhoozi who has been the Archdeacon of Kinoni in North Ankole Diocese. Muhoozi who was ordained in 2007, holds a diploma, bachelor’s and master’s of theology from UCU.
The new bishop promised to anchor his leadership on nurturing the younger people with Christian values that will help them grow into responsible citizens by supporting youth programs, innovations, and fellowships.
He emphasized the need to fight household poverty in the diocese by urging the Christians to engage in income-generating activities.
“Our leadership will establish a commercialized agriculture department comprising agriculture and veterinary officers. A strategic plan will be developed with a phased implementation approach,” Muhoozi explained, as he laid out his strategy upon being consecrated.
He also revealed his plans for the diocese’s education sector. “For all children, education is the most reliable gateway to opportunity, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Therefore, education must be of good quality and accessible to all.”
Muhoozi also reminded the people of their cardinal duty to protect the environment: “We need water for our animals, domestic use, factory use and irrigation. That is why we must protect the existing wetlands. We will encourage tree planting by providing tree seedlings, with the help of partners.”
Muhoozi’s plans must have been good news to the chief guest, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, who was represented at the function by Vice President Jessica Alupo. In a speech read by Alupo, Museveni asked the church to go beyond spreading the Christian gospel and by mobilizing people to be active participants in programs that can help them solve their everyday challenges.
“Our people must, therefore, be sensitized to work hard and improve food security and household incomes,” Alupo said as she read from a speech by the President. “Every family must wake up and join the commercial farming campaign to transform agriculture and livelihoods into commercial, profit-oriented agriculture,” she explained.
Alupo gave Muhoozi a vehicle that was donated to him by the President, on behalf of the Government of Uganda. It’s a custom for the Government to donate a new vehicle to every new bishop or church leader at a similar rank in Uganda.
As Muhoozi assumes office, he is expected to oversee the more than 10 archdeaconries, the more than 70 parishes as well as schools and health facilities founded by the Anglican Church in his area of jurisdiction.
