Kampala, 01 May, 2020 / 2:42 am (ACI Africa).
Bishops in the East African nation of Uganda have postponed indefinitely the celebrations of the Martyrs’ Day that had been scheduled for May 29 and June 3 due to the COVID-19 restrictions put in place by the government including public gatherings.
The deferment was announced April 29 by the President the Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC), Bishop Joseph Antony Zziwa. He stated, “The Conference will later come up with another arrangement.”
In his letter announcing the deferment, Bishop Zziwa highlighted the “difficulties and uncertainty” occasioned by COVID-19 restrictions and called on those who had planned to participate in the annual pilgrimage to “understand the situation and accept to postpone the Uganda Martyrs' Day which was supposed to be held in May and June 2020.”
Masaka diocese has been engaged for the past several months in preparing for the annual event that brings together both local and international pilgrims.
“Rt. Rev. Serverus Jjumba, the Bishop of the Diocese of Masaka, has officially informed me that his Diocese will not be in position to organize the 2020 Namugongo Martyrs Day celebrations (29th May for Youth and 3rd June 2020 for the rest of the pilgrims),” Bishop Zziwa stated.