ELECTION OF WEST ANKOLE BISHOP STALLS AGAIN

BY WILBER MUHWEZI

IN BUSHENYI—

The highly anticipated election of the new bishop for west Ankole diocese has hit a snag following the postponement of the nominations committee meeting that was scheduled to sit today April 6, 2017.

The committee chaired by diocesan chancellor Mr  Marvin Baryaruha failed to sit today as earlier scheduled under unclear circumstances and this has left the nomination of the new bishop in jeopardy

Early this year, the archbishop of the church of Uganda also the acting bishop of the diocese had put in place a road map in which the new bishop would be elected and later consecrated May 28th this year.

The nominations committee was meant to sit yesterday and elect two names in which the house of bishops which sits on April 21^st would choose the new bishop of the troubled west Ankole diocese.

One of the committee members whose names are withheld because he is not allowed to speak for the committee told www.mknewslink.com editor  that the chancellor invited the members for the meeting but to his dismay the meeting was called off under unclear circumstances and he never communicated a another date.

However diocesan secretary Rev Arthur Atwiine told www.mknewslink.com editor that he did not know why the nominations committee meeting was postponed without any genuine reason. He added that he had failed to reach out to the chancellor on phone because he could not pick his repeated calls and sms.

Efforts by this website editor to get a comment from the chancellor Mr. Baryaruha were futile as he  could not pick our repeated calls.

On the other hand, the chancellor who is battling charges of corruption at the anti corruption court in kololo has been appearing before justice Lawrence Gidudu since Monday and may be this could be the reason of calling off this nomination committee meeting.

The position of bishop of west Ankole diocese fell vacant on October 02, 2016 following the retirement of the then bishop Yona Mwesigya Katoneene. Bishop Katoneene never left a successor after the exercise to choose a new bishop aborted after the two names of Rev. canon Amos Turyahabwe of makerere university and Rev. Can. William Twinamatsiko archdeacon of all saints church greater Bushenyi were not approved.

Instead the house of bishops decided to halt the exercise because the sheema Christians petitioned that the synod that elected nominations/election committee that came up with nominees was constituted by an illegitimate synod. Since then the new synod was put in place and the one that put in place the nominations committee.

Relatedly, some of the contestants for position of bishop of west ankole diocese that www.mknewslink.com editor spoke to are not happy with the exercise because they/nominations committee never allowed them to apply for the job as it has always been. The Baryaruha committee has instead resorted to the files of the clergy to shortlist  every one that has the qualification. This however did not go well with the contestants. They revealed that this will give room to challenge the exercise after.

www.mknewslink.com

wmuhwezi75@gmail.com