Balokole oppose Archbishop Lwanga-UJCC proposal to extend 2021 elections, allow Museveni rule till 2023

Uganda’s pentecostals and evangelicals under the Born Again Faith Federation (Baffe) have rejected a proposal by the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) to postpone 2021 elections over violence and the Covid19 pandemic.

On December 23, Lwanga announced UJCC’s position on office term and election extension.

“A few days ago, our top leadership of UJCC to which I am the current Chairman, discussed this current entire sad situation at length and we came up with a resolution that we should postpone the presidential elections for at least three years so as to allow both the Covid19 pandemic and the electoral climate to cool down and also create a favourable political and social environment which will enhance peaceful free and fair elections,” Lwanga announced.

The suggestions have been opposed across the political divide, with both ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and opposition rejecting them.

UJCC comprises three religions: the Catholics, Anglicans and the Orthodox, who claim 78 per cent of Uganda’s population.

Now, the Balokole, whose faith is fast growing, have opposed UJCC’s recommendations.

“It was supposed to be then, before nominations, before anybody invested anybody; before anybody did anything. Now you wait three weeks to the election and come up with the same idea?” wondered Baffe presiding apostle Pastor Joseph Sserwadda of Victory Christian Centre, Ndeeba.

“People have invested money; riots have happened and people have died. Some people have won this election in certain ways; for example you have already gotten dozens of members coming to Parliament unopposed, what are you going to tell these people?”

Pastor Sserwadda further claimed the statement Lwanga and UJCC read was different from that agreed on by the Uganda Episcopal Conference, the local conference of Roman Catholic bishops in Uganda established in 1960 to promote and coordinate social and pastoral ministry of the Catholic Church.

“We don’t belong there; the statement was from that side, from UJCC. I have a copy of the statement from the chairman of the Episcopal Conference which is a totally different thing. He objects to that statement, he doesn’t agree with what was said,” said Sserwadda.