By Mulengera Reporters
In his Saturday letter, Masaka Catholic Diocese Bishop Serverus Jjumba expressed fear about the disappearance and whereabout of Rev Father Deusdedit Ssekabira whose Wednesday 3rd December enforced disappearance he likened to that of Msgr Clement Mukasa who he reminisced was picked from inside Our Lady of Sorrows Kitovu Cathedral by armed men from Amin’s State Research Bureau on 12th July 1976 and he has never been seen again. Today, almost 48 years later, Fr. Clement Mukasa has no marked grave.
In his Saturday 13th December missive, Bishop Serverus Jjumba made veiled reference to the lyrics of Ronald Mayinja’s Bizeemu (the bad days are back) song.
In reference to the circumstances under which “men in Uganda army uniform” stormed Katwe Masaka City-based Uplift Primary School premises and carried away Rev Fr Deusdedit Ssekabira, Bishop Jjumba fell short of stating that “Ebintu Bizeemu” as Mayinja indicated in his song of barely 10 years ago.
Fr. Ssekabira’s work place as a priest is based at Bumangi Parish under Masaka Diocese, implying that Bishop Jjumba has direct supervisory authority over him.
The traumatic incident, over which Bishop Jjumba has sine declared prayer and spiritual warfare, occurred on Wednesday 3rd December at 1pm and now, 11 days later, Fr. Ssekabira’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Bishop Jjumba, who in his Saturday letter revealed that efforts by the Church leadership and Church lawyers to trace the whereabouts of Fr Ssekabira had so far not yielded fruit, declared that “a grievous wound” had been “inflicted” on the body of Christ in the whole of Masaka Diocese, Uganda and globally. He added that the devastation has even been worse on Fr. Ssekabira’s family.
This is how Bishop Jjumba explained the steps his leadership had taken so far (as of Saturday) only to end up not yielding much: “On Monday 8th December 2025, I asked all the priests of Masaka Diocese to do a Rosary Triduum (praying the Rosary for three consecutive days), with Sorrowful Mysteries, praying for our brother priest, the Church, and our country Uganda.”
He added: “Today 13th December 2025, I’m calling upon all Christ’s faithful of Masaka Diocese, in your homes, parishes and communities to do a Rosary Triduum, with Sorrowful Mysteries, praying that God’s power may reign. I’m doing this communication in Our Lady of Sorrows, Kitovu Cathedral, where on 12th July 1976, Msgr Clement Mukasa was kidnapped and he has never been seen again. [May] Our Lady of Sorrows intercede for us.”
SIGH OF RELIEF: Gratefully, on Sunday late afternoon Ag Director Defence Public Information Col Chris Magezi proclaimed a media statement declaring that Fr. Ssekabira was in the custody of the government’s security forces and that he is a subject of ongoing criminal investigations.
That he was recently arrested for involvement in subversive activities against the state of Uganda. Col Magezi asserted that the priest “is in lawful custody to assist with further investigations into the matter.” He concluded with: “He will be produced in the courts of law and charged accordingly.”
Even though Magezi didn’t disclose the exact location he is being detained from and how soon the priest would be arraigned to be formally charged, his pronouncement must have been received with great relief among Ssekabira’s fellow Catholic clerics under the Masaka diocese including their boss, Bishop Jjumba.
It means they have where to start from and can now demand for justice (namely a speedy and fair trial) with certainty because he can now be accounted for. Ssekabira’s confinement will naturally have a cowing effect on many fame-seeking Masaka Catholic priests who had taken to openly castigating and de-campaigning Gen Museveni and his NRM government as Ugandans count down to the voting day 15th January 2026, naturally to the advantage of Robert Kyagulanyi who currently is the regime’s biggest political opponent. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
