by Wongani chipeta
The Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba has condemned the demolition of St Peter’s church in Ndeeba, Kampala describing the act as evil and barbaric.
The Anglican Church in Ndeeba was built 49 years ago only to be demolished on Sunday after a longstanding land wrangle between the church leadership and a businessman only identified as Dodovico.
According to the INDEPENDENT news, the High Court judge Mr Eudes Keitirima had last year ruled that the Church of Uganda trustees fraudulently acquired the land where the demolished church sits but the church says the church land was a donation.
In a statement issued on August 10, Dr. Kazimba noted that they are grateful the person who donated the land as a gift to God is not alive to witness the destruction that has been done to the sacred place.
“This barbaric act of destruction is evil. If an action can’t be done in broad daylight, then there is something deeply wrong; we have lost respect for God,” he noted.
He added that the destruction of the church took place in the darkness of night during a curfew; and, the security forces, who are supposed to uphold the law and guard against destroyers, were allegedly complicit in it’s destruction.
According to Dr Kazimba, even amid the lockdown, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has not been locked down.
“Likewise, the destruction of St. Peter’s Church, Ndeeba, will not deter the Church from preaching the Gospel. Jesus promised us that the “gates of hell will not prevail against the Church of Jesus Christ.” (Matthew 16.18),” reads an excerpt.
Meanwhile, several people including some policemen have been arrested in connection with the demolition of the church.
Avant publications went into investigating the matter following some social media reports that the church was demolished after defying covid 19 rules by the government of Uganda.