Christians of the Anglican Community in Sheema District resolved to secede from Weste Ankole Diocese. Christians met at Saturday 30th May at St. Emmanuel Church in kabwohe and appealed to the Province of the Church of Uganda to split the current Diocese of West Ankole to form another Diocese of ‘Central Ankole’. The meeting was well by many including Cabinet Ministers of Government hailing from Sheema District, Members of Parliament, prominent former leaders and members of the District leadership.
Bishop Y. Katonene the reigning Bishop of West Ankole Diocese had a media briefing in Mbarara the following day where he described the decision by the section of Christians as ‘null and void’. Accordingly, the Bishop went on to state that the resolution by the Christians “was dangerous and poisonous to the flock.”
Expressions of disgruntlement between a section of Christians in Sheema and the reigning Bishop are not a new thing. The wrangles have taken over two years and they stem and rotate around the Bishop’s wish to transfer part of Ankole Western Institute of Science and Technology (AWIST) to another location in Bushenyi District. The Bishop’s desire did not go well with a section of Christians who formed a task force and it “Sheema Stakeholders”. The ‘stake holders at one time petitioned President Museveni who chaired a meeting between the two parties. For some time, after the meeting with the president, there was a semblance of calm in the land but this is no more!
The Bishop has since been escorted by Police to attend boycotted church functions. Some church leaders have been chased away from church premises or humiliated for being loyal to the bishop. In some parts of Sheema District, the churches are run on the sole advice of the ‘Sheema stakeholders’.
The strategy of the leadership at the Diocese to resolve the impasse has been confrontational. Amicable dialogue through conflict resolution strategies has lacked and a war of verbal abuses, accusations and threats have persisted. There is a semblance for lack of leadership in resolving the conflict.
As this conflict rages, some prominent Christians and leaders have decided to keep quiet about it. This is in disregard of the high importance of a proper functioning church in not only Sheema but also in our country. The church was instrumental and still holds the founding status of key educational and health institutions in this nation. Without a proper functioning church, the governance bodies of some of these institutions are in limbo. This has a greater impact on our education system. A proper functioning church is the headlock of morals to a christian dominated community like ours. What will be the explanation to the current generation of young children who have watched their fathers run after, abuse or humiliate church leaders? What should be sacred alters in church premises are now pulpits of castigating messages against church leaders.
As the Bankole say ‘’eka eteine nyineka etembwa ebikyere’’ literally translated; a family without a head will crumble one day.
It’s high time the Province of the church of Uganda stepped in the gap to resolve the impasse. The Christians in Sheema and one can easily say that Anglican church community in Sheema district is at cross roads of a revolution or distraction.
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