Outspoken Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese His Grace Dr. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga is dead. He was 67 years old. He died in his room today morning, according to an official communication by the Chancellor Fr. Pius Male Ssentumbwe.
“With deep sorrow, I hereby inform you that our beloved Shepherd, the Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese, His Grace Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga has been called to the House of the Lord. The Archbishop was found dead in his room this morning. We pray that the Almighty and Merciful God may grant him eternal rest,” the statement reads in part.
According to the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference ,Monsignor John Baptist Kauta , Dr. Lwanga was found dead at his residence at Lubaga.
Dr. Lwanga yesterday jointly led the traditional Way of the Cross with his Church of Uganda Anglican counterpart , Dr. Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu at Namirembe Cathedral. Church sources say the archbishop could have died of a heart attack after a hectic Friday ,since he has been unwell in the previous days.
The late Archbishop Lwanga a strong advocate of human rights and political freedoms was born in January 1953 and was appointed as Archbishop of Kampala 14 years ago on August 19, 2006.
He went to Kyabakadde Primary School, Nyenga Seminary in 1964 and studied at Katigondo National Major Seminary from 1972-74 when Uganda faced political turmoil . He then joined Ggaba National Seminary where he read theology before he joined the University of Clermont-Ferrand in France in 1979 where he studied administration and languages.
He also studied at Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, where in 1994, he earned a doctorate in Canon Law. He was ordained a priest on April 8, 1978 at Rubaga Cathedral by Cardinal Emmanuel Kiwanuka Nsubuga. He served as a priest of Kampala Archdiocese until November 30, 1996.
He was appointed first bishop of the Diocese of Kasana-Luweero on November 30, 1996 and consecrated bishop on March 1, 1997 at Kasana-Luweero, by Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, Archbishop of Kampala, assisted by Bishop Joseph Bernard Louis Willigers, Bishop of Jinja and Bishop Paul Lokiru Kalanda, Bishop of Fort Portal.
On August 19, 2006, he was appointed the third Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kampala and was installed as the third Archbishop of Kampala on September 30, 2006 at Rubaga Cathedral, succeeding Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, who retired .
Archbishop Lwanga in the last presidential elections strongly criciticised government for narrowing the space for political freedoms and called for the strict observance of human rights by state agencies while policing elections .
He is been a firm believer in the institution of the Kabakaship and promoter of the Ganda culture .
