By KT Reporter
The retired Bishop of West Buganda, Henry Katumba, has apologized to the Church for the highhanded character he exhibited in the execution of his clerical duties in the area.
The Right Reverend Katumba Tamale served as the sixth Bishop of West Buganda diocese in the Church of Uganda; a responsibility he has performed since his consecration in August 2016.
After serving for eight years and seven months, Bishop Katumba clocked the Church of Uganda Bishops’ mandatory retirement age of 65 years and was replaced by Reverend Canon Gaster Nsereko, who was consecrated at the end of last month.
While officially handing over the instruments of power to his successor at the Diocesan administrative Offices in Kako, Masaka City, Bishop Katumba apologized to both Church and clergy for the shortcomings and excesses that characterized his tenure as the principal shepherd in West Buganda.
In his tenure, different sections of people, both within the circles of the clergy and laity in the diocese, have described Bishop Katumba as a very intricate person in the priests’ robe, who never tolerated voices of dissent from subordinates.
In his handover speech, Bishop Katumba acknowledged that at some point during his tenure, he invoked some character of highhandedness, and often appeared excessive to those around him, in the course of executing his clerical responsibilities.
He apologized to both the clergy and laity whom he offended in either action or words, saying that he sometimes found it necessary to be highhanded as one of the approaches to better assert his authority; to overcome the trials and doubts he faced as a stranger who had not served in West Buganda diocese before.
Bishop Katumba appreciated the Christians in the West Buganda diocese for their cooperation, which he says helped him accomplish the biggest percentage of the objectives he set out in his charge when he assumed office.
Notable among his achievements are; the construction of Church Plaza in Masaka city, the new Bishop’s house and priests’ houses in parishes, vigorous mobilization for the establishment of coffee plantations in all parishes, training of priests and lay readers to improve the quality of services, initiation on pension scheme for retired priests, fencing of the cathedral among other projects.
He appealed to Christians and staff for cooperation and to create an enabling working environment for his successors to support him in completing the missions of his tenure.
Meanwhile, the Right Reverend Gaster Nsereko, the new Bishop of West Buganda Diocese, indicates that his predecessor has left a firm foundation of spirituality and hard work, upon which he is also to base his mission.
He also called upon the Christians in the area to accept the apology for any shortcomings of his predecessors and focus their eyes on the great future of the diocese and the Church.
Alice Ddamulira, one of the lay Canons of the West Buganda, says that they are grateful that the diocese has a smooth transition of leadership from the former to the new Bishop. She says that the hopeful that the new Bishop will further build cohesion among the flock and steer the Church ahead-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
