Kampala, Uganda: President Museveni has granted a request by the Seventh-day Adventist Church to exempt its members from the monthly National Cleaning Day exercise held on Saturdays, allowing them to instead participate on the following Sunday.
The decision was announced by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja during an inter-ministerial meeting on the National Cleaning Day held at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kampala on Wednesday.
According to Nabbanja, President Museveni directed that SDA faithful undertake their cleaning activities on the last Sunday of every month in recognition of their Sabbath, which is observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening.
“In recognition of the Sabbath observance of the Seventh-day Adventist community, and following guidance by H.E. the President, the Seventh-day Adventists will remain at home during the designated cleaning time. However, they will be required to undertake their National Day Cleaning activities on the following day, i.e. Sunday,” Nabbanja said.
She added that SDA leaders will supervise the Sunday exercise to ensure full participation, while church prayers will begin after 10:00am.
“This arrangement ensures that the SDA participate fully in the national programme while respecting their day of worship,” Nabbanja added.
Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda, who also represents Budiope West and serves as Director for Busoga SDA Women Field, welcomed the President’s decision.
“In a special way, Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, I want to thank H.E. the President for considering the SDA fraternity to worship their God as established by God Himself,” Babalanda said.
Babalanda said the exemption reinforces freedom of worship and urged Resident District Commissioners, Resident City Commissioners and their deputies to intensify mobilisation ahead of the monthly cleaning exercise.
“As supervisor of the RDCs, RCCs, Deputies and Assistants, I call upon all the RDCs to mobilise the communities, map out areas to be cleaned, make arrangements for cleaning materials to be available at the sites and communicate clearly, at least one week in advance,” she said.
The government announced the National Cleaning Days on July 23, 2026, following a Cabinet resolution aimed at promoting discipline, sanitation and environmental protection.
The exercise began on Saturday, July 25, 2026, and is scheduled to take place on the last Saturday of every month between 7:00am and 10:00am.
Under the arrangement, movement is restricted during the cleaning hours, with exceptions made for essential services and emergencies.
The Saturday schedule, however, raised concern among Seventh-day Adventists because it coincided with their Sabbath observance.
In a July 24, 2026 letter, SDA leaders led by Archbishop Samuel Kajoba, with support from Ministers Babalanda and Cissy Mulondo, petitioned the government to consider an alternative arrangement.
An SDA delegation later met Prime Minister Nabbanja on Tuesday, where the parties agreed to shift the exercise to Sunday for Adventist faithful, following guidance from President Museveni. The arrangement was formally communicated during Wednesday’s inter-ministerial meeting.
The National Cleaning Day programme is part of the government’s wider effort to improve sanitation, environmental protection and community participation. While the national exercise remains scheduled for the last Saturday of every month, the new arrangement allows Seventh-day Adventist faithful to fulfil the same civic obligation on the last Sunday of the month without conflicting with their religious observance.
If you would like your article/opinion to be published on Uganda’s most authoritative news platform, send your submission on: [email protected]. You can also follow DailyExpress on WhatsApp and on Twitter (X) for realtime updates.
