PARLIAMENT, KAMPALA: Members of Parliament who subscribe to the Orthodox faith have hailed the Orthodox church Archbishop, Metropolitan Jonah Lwanga as a man who stood by the people and stood for the truth at all costs.
The Orthodox Church on Sunday evening announced that His Eminence the Archbishop Jonah Lwanga, 76, had passed on after battling an illness. According to reports, the cleric breathed his last in Greece where he had been hospitalized.
The vocal prelate is remembered for being outspoken on issues of human rights and democracy during his life on earth.
In 2019, Lwanga said that the National Resistance Movement, NRM leadership would collapse for disturbing the nation.
He said Ugandans would suffer human rights abuse until the ruling party is dissolved. His statement was in response to the rampant killings and human rights violations in the country then.
Now, Members of Parliament who subscribe to the Orthodox faith have described Lwanga as a man who defended faith, challenged the state irrespective of the outcome, as long as it ensured rights and well being of Ugandans.
Theodore Ssekikubo, the Lwemiyaga County MP says that Lwanga steered the church at a very critical time when the politics of the country was at a heated moment. He says Lwanga called government to order, and some people saw him as opposition and the enemy of the ruling party.
Ssekikubo says Lwanga loved Uganda and was more concerned about its future in contrast to what was happening now. He says although Lwanga worked closely with the President, he told the President the truth. He says as a member of the Inter-Religious Council, Lwanga defended the faith and challenged the state over its actions.
The Kalangala Woman MP Hellen Nakimuli described the late Bishop as a role model man of God in these times. She says that what stood out for Lwanga is that he did not fear anybody as long as it was the truth, saying the Bishop often said the truth will set you free.
According to Nakimuli, Lwanga was a leader who was not about pleasing anybody but stood to the truth, human rights, and democracy.
Nakimuli says Lwanga condemned corruption, killings and torture and several other gross human rights abuses. She says as part of the teachings of the Orthodox church, democracy and justice is key, and this is what Metropolitan Lwanga actually lived and practiced. She says Lwanga was quite a lady for not mincing his words.
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