Kakwenza challenges new Bishop Patience Rwabwogo to confront wrongdoing at home

Kakwenza challenges new Bishop Patience Rwabwogo to confront wrongdoing at home

Frames of writivist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija and incarcerated Dr Kizza Besigye, and Bishop Patience Rwabwogo.

NATIONAL

Ugandan writer and activist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has challenged newly consecrated Bishop Patience Rwabwogo to use her new religious authority to confront what he describes as abuses and wrongdoing within Uganda’s ruling family.

In a lengthy open letter posted on his social media platforms, Kakwenza congratulated Rwabwogo on becoming an Episcopal Bishop, but quickly turned his message into a pointed appeal for her to apply her Christian convictions to the conduct of her family.

Rwabwogo, daughter of President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni, was consecrated on Sunday at Covenant Hill in Maya, Wakiso District, during celebrations marking 20 years of Covenant Nations Church, which she founded.

She became the first woman in Uganda to be ordained as a bishop, according to reports from the ceremony. The service was led by American evangelist Bishop Dr LaDonna Osborn, with senior Christian leaders, including Pastor Enoch Adeboye, attending.

Kakwenza, who lives in exile, questioned what the new office would mean beyond its ceremonial symbols.

“Perhaps charity should begin at the State House Entebbe,” he wrote, referring to the presidential family’s residence.

He challenged the new bishop to use her “shepherd’s staff” to confront what he described as abuses committed under her father’s government.

“Can you use that shepherd’s staff to beat away the demons of your father’s rule over Ugandans?” he asked.

Kakwenza also referred to allegations of torture, imprisonment and disappearances involving government critics, saying that he himself had been forced into exile.

He further criticised Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, President Museveni’s son and the Chief of Defence Forces, alleging that he had boasted on social media about people being held in a “basement”.

The allegations are part of Kakwenza’s broader criticism of the government and the conduct of the security forces.

The writer then invoked the case of opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye, who once served as President Museveni’s personal doctor during the bush war.

He asked what a Christian conscience should tell Bishop Patience when she sees the former physician of her father in custody after years of political confrontation.

Ugandan President YK Museveni and his wife Janet K Museveni at the consecration of their daughter Patience Rwabwogo as the Bishop of the Covenant Nations Church.

“There is something grotesquely circular about a revolution whose doctor eventually becomes the prisoner of the patient he once treated,” Kakwenza wrote.

Dr Besigye is currently facing criminal proceedings, while his supporters have repeatedly raised concerns about his treatment in custody. The government has rejected accusations that his prosecution is politically motivated.

Kakwenza argued that the new bishop’s greatest test would not be preaching against wrongdoing committed by strangers, but confronting wrongdoing within her own family.

“A Bishop should recognise evil even when it shares her surname,” he wrote.

He also drew a comparison between the family’s political and religious influence, noting that President Museveni is head of state, Gen Muhoozi commands the military and Bishop Patience now leads a major Christian ministry.

His remarks came against the backdrop of a ceremony that celebrated Bishop Patience’s two decades of ministry. Church elders described her leadership as having expanded from a small house fellowship into a ministry involved in discipleship, youth mentorship, professional development and community initiatives.

During the ceremony, Bishop Osborn urged the new bishop to see her office as a responsibility to shepherd and transform society, while Pastor Adeboye cautioned that becoming a bishop was not merely a matter of prestige but a serious calling requiring discipline and commitment.

President Museveni, who attended the ceremony with the First Lady, praised his daughter’s knowledge of scripture and described her consecration as a significant milestone for the family.

He also revealed that he and his wife Janet Kataha Museveni had given her 50 cows to mark the occasion.

For Kakwenza, however, the significance of the occasion lies less in the mitre, crozier and other symbols of episcopal office than in how Bishop Patience responds to the political realities surrounding her family.

“The serious test begins when the demons know your childhood nickname,” he wrote.

He concluded his message by urging the new bishop to make her religious authority meaningful by challenging wrongdoing even when doing so could be personally costly.

“You have the title, the mitre and the crozier. Begin the exorcism at home,” he wrote.