By KT Reporter
St Peter’s Church of Uganda in the Nakapiripirit district has been commended for helping to foster unity and reconciliation between the Pian and Pokot communities.
The church located in the area that used to be a battlefield between the Pokot and Karamojong warriors is believed to have started around 1963 and strengthened at the time when refugees from Sudan were settled in the Nakapiripirit. It was managed and taken care of by the Christians, more so by a man identified as Chemaset, a Pokot man from Kacheliba in Kenya.
The Christians, through their commitment, started praying under the tree in Lokoona village where the church is currently located. After several years, they were able to set up a small semi-permanent structure, and later began the construction of the 600-seater structure that is currently at the ring beam level pending completion.
During the struggle for peace, many lives were lost, among them Philip Asio, who was a pastor killed in 1970 while other Christians fled the area.
As time went on, the church embarked on conducting dialogues, preached the gospel of peace, cross visits, mediation by church elders of both Pokot and the Pian, occupied warriors through a scholarship for education, Adult literacy (FAL), and prayers offered for peace.
Rev Joshua Angella, the Archdeacon of Nakapiripirit Archdeaconry, said that the church played a pivotal role in fostering unity, reconciliation, and forgiveness, which promoted the peaceful coexistence among the Pokot and Pian communities.
Angella revealed that they preached the gospel that helped convert over 500 people to Christianity, and they got baptized. He noted that these people, who were mainly men, could have been robbers, cattle rustlers, and murderers, but the word of God brought more good than harm to the community.
Angella said that the church has contributed to the betterment of the government of Uganda because they preach the gospel to people who could have thought of committing bad criminal acts against the government.
Angella noted that in the process of spreading the gospel, some of the clergy and pastors were killed during the insurgencies, but they continued with the gospel until the situation normalized.
He said that despite the peace, they also improved food security, education, and health through their preaching and the various church programs.
Despite the positive change, the church continues to grapple with financial challenges to complete the new structure that is at the ring beam level. The church, once completed, will be able to accommodate over 600 congregations.
Angella explained that although they received the iron sheets for roofing from the Prime Minister’s office, the Christians are struggling to raise money to enable them to purchase other materials to complete the structure.
Angella appealed to the well-wishers to render them any necessary support for the completion of the church, which he believed would help to strengthen the peace deal between the Pokot and the Karamojong people.
He also raised concerns over how the surrounding community is grabbing and encroaching on the church’s land.
Angella said that the church had a chunk of land that was approximately 32 acres before the grabbers and encroachers invaded about 12 acres of land.
Angella also highlighted that the insecurity affected the development of the church, especially the projects such as piggery, poultry and fish farming that could have helped them raise some resources. He said that the church now plans to revive some of the projects, such as fish farming for income generation-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
