President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni presents a brand-new Toyota Land Cruiser SUV to the Bishop of Busoga Diocese, Rt Rev Grace Lubaale, to facilitate his pastoral and administrative duties across the diocese.
The handover ceremony was held at 2:00 p.m. at the Office of the President in Kampala and will be presided over by Vice President Jessica Alupo, who will represent the President.
The presentation fulfils a commitment that could not be implemented at the time of Bishop Lubaale’s consecration and enthronement as the fourth Bishop of Busoga Diocese on December 14, 2025, at Bugembe Cathedral in Jinja City.
The ceremony was led by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu.
According to a statement from the Bishop’s Communications Department, the customary vehicle gift was delayed because Electoral Commission regulations prohibit government donations during election campaign periods.
“While it is a practice that every consecrated and enthroned Bishop is given a vehicle by H.E. the President to facilitate his pastoral movements, this practice could not be fulfilled at the time because of the campaign season regulations that restrained the President from doing so,” the statement said.
The handover comes six months after Bishop Lubaale assumed leadership of the diocese.
The new Land Cruiser is expected to improve the Bishop’s mobility as he serves the expansive Busoga Diocese, which spans 11 districts and hundreds of parishes stretching from Jinja to areas bordering Kenya and Lake Kyoga.
Church leaders say reliable transport is essential for pastoral visits, confirmations, ordinations, diocesan administration and community outreach programmes across the region.
Speaking ahead of the handover, Bishop Lubaale expressed gratitude to the President, saying the vehicle would be dedicated to ministry and service.
“I am deeply grateful to H.E. the President for this generous gesture. This vehicle will not be for personal comfort, but a tool for ministry. It will help us reach the rural parishes, visit the sick, and stand with our people as we preach the gospel and promote development in Busoga,” he said.
The Church of Uganda has historically partnered with government in sectors such as education, healthcare and community development. Government support to bishops through transport and logistical facilitation has been part of efforts to strengthen the church’s outreach and public service role.
Vice President Alupo is expected to reaffirm government’s commitment to working closely with religious leaders during the handover ceremony.
“His Excellency the President values the role of the Church in nation-building. This vehicle is a symbol of that partnership and of the government’s appreciation for Bishop Lubaale’s leadership and service to the people of Busoga and Uganda at large,” she said.
An academic and theologian, Bishop Lubaale is the fourth Bishop of Busoga Diocese since it was carved out of Namirembe Diocese in 1960. He succeeded Rt. Rev. Paul Moses Naimanhye.
