Sentamu Calls for Justice and Reconciliation in Uganda

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has called upon President Yoweri Museveni and the Archbishop of Uganda, the Most Rev Henry Orombi, to "put and end to the suffering and misery" of thousands of people caught up in the conflict in Northern Uganda.

Dr Sentamu made the appeal in a service at Westminster Abbey on Sunday night to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the martyrdom of his friend and mentor the former Archbishop of Uganda, Janani Luwum, who was brutally murdered by Idi Amin.

The Archbishop of York called for a "redoubling of effort" from Uganda and the world community to bring an end to child slavery and the use of child soldiers in Uganda, as he spoke of the line of action that Luwum would pursue were he alive today.

"To President Yoweri Museveni, Archbishop Henry Orombi in partnership with the world community, he would urge a redoubling of effort to put an end to the suffering and misery of the Acholi and Langi people. And all of us Ugandans must see the problem of Northern Uganda as problem as a sore-wound on our conscience. We are all implicated.

"As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said, 'We must continue to remind ourselves that in a free society, all are involved in what some are doing. Some are guilty, all are responsible.'"

Recalling the life of Janani Luwum, Dr Sentamu said Archbishop Luwum had been "an archbishop who confronted tribalism, religion and despotism in Uganda. Today he would be busy confronting the demons of our time: idolatry, militarism, materialism and racism.

"His heart would be rendered open by the suffering of the Acholi and the Langi in Northern Uganda. Suffering that has gone on unabated from the time of Idi Amin to the present.

"To the Lord's Resistance Army that has abducted children and turned them into child-soldiers and modern day slaves, raped, maimed and killed many, Janani would have thundered, 'Enough is enough'. His spilled blood is crying out not for vengeance but for justice and reconciliation."

Dr Sentamu also cast his thoughts back to the time when he first heard that Luwum had been murdered by Idi Amin: "Janani Luwum gave the Church of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire a new spirit and vitality. His wise leadership had encouraged Christians not to disregard, but to confront issues of the church and state in Uganda. That he challenged the authorities of his day publicly, like the prophet Nathan, set him apart from other bishops of the church.

"His contribution was also characterised by the confidence of his faith; that the gospel of Jesus Christ could offer eternal values to a violent, unjust and deceitful political power. He sought to shape his province into a distinctive Christian body that cherished its past and its diversity, but one that reached out to what was universal in the gospel.

"For me, his martyrdom was a defining moment. The day he died I resolved to be ordained."