“It is our request to the government and to the commander in chief to have stricter measures imposed on the use of guns in this country for both the security agents and private owners of guns,” the Local Ordinary of Uganda’s Kiyinda-Mityana Diocese said.
The appeal is based on incidents of reported gun killings in the East African nation in recent times.
On May 2, a Ugandan national army soldier, Wilson Sabiiti reportedly shot dead retired Colonel Charles Okello Engola, deputy minister for gender and labor, at his home in the capital Kampala, according to BBC News. The soldier also took his own life.
Last month, at least eight people reportedly died in separate shootings in Kampala and elsewhere with an average of one fatal gunshot victim every 48 hours, Daily Monitor reported.
In his June 3 speech, Bishop Zziwa also prayed for peace in the Horn of Africa, Sudan, Ukraine and other parts of the world.
The Uganda Martyrs’ Day dates back to the first decade of Christian presence in the East African nation when 45 men aged between 14 to 50 years were killed because of their faith by the King of Buganda between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887.
Among the 45 were 22 Catholics beatified in 1920 and canonized in 1964, who continue to promote Catholic life in the country and also play an important role in constructing a Catholic identity globally.
The annual celebration is held at Namugongo shrine, one of the popular sites on the Northeast edge of the Kampala Metropolitan See that hosts a modernist basilica church whose altar is above the place where the martyrs' pyre is believed to have been.
In his homily during this year’s Martyrs Day, Bishop Charles Martin Wamika of Uganda’s Jinja Diocese emphasized the need to express faith to achieve physical, social, financial, and spiritual fulfillment.
Bishop Charles Martin Wamika of Uganda’s Jinja Diocese. Credit: Uganda Catholics Online
Bishop Joseph Anthony Zziwa. Credit: Courtesy Photo
