AMECEA Chairman describes Archbishop Paul Kamuza As a ‘Rare Leader.’

The Chairman of Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), Bishop Charles Sampa Kasonde describes the late Archbishop  Emeritus Paul Kamuza Bakyenga as a unique personality in leadership.

Emeritus Kamuza was the Archbishop of Mbarara Archdiocese in South-Western part of Uganda.

The late Prelate was the first Archbishop of Mbarara Archdiocese who has been serving as a Prelate since 1989.

AMECEA chairman Bishop Charles Sampa Kasonde expressed that the Lord gave the region a “great pastor” who demonstrated rare leadership skills.

Late Paul Kamuza had served as the chairman of the regional body AMECEA from July 2002 to July 2008.

In a message addressed to the current Local Ordinary of Mbarara, Bishop Kasonde disclosed that the late Archbishop had led the Association to the dawn of the Third Millennium.

According to Bishop Charles, the late Emeritus Archbishop led the association through the “challenge of seeking new ways of responding to the calls for deeper evangelization and the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.”

It is reported that, during the reign of the late Archbishop Bakyenga as the AMECEA chairman, the HIV/AIDS epidemic became one of the most serious threats to the region and sub-Saharan Africa. 

This saw Archbishop Bakyenga spearhead the 15th AMECEA Plenary Assembly that was held in Mukono, Uganda, in the year 2005 to be convened under the theme “Responding to the Challenges of HIV/AIDS in AMECEA Region.”

Bishop Kasonde sent condolences to all those who have shared in the late Archbishop’s life, especially the family members, the government, and the Catholic Church in the Region.

“My sympathies also go to you the Catholic faithful in the Archdiocese of Mbarara for whom he passionately worked with enthusiasm and zeal to promote holistic evangelization and development,” Bishop Kasonde highlighted.

“If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to God” (Rom. 14:8). In Jesus Christ, whether alive or dead, we mutually depend on one another as individual parts of one body, the Church,” he concluded referencing Saint Paul’s message in the letter to the Romans.

Late Archbishop Emeritus Paul Kamuza Bakyenga died on July 18 this year at Nsambya Hospital in Kampala at the age of 79.