The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda (COU), the Most Reverend Dr. Samuel Stephen Kazimba Mugalu, has warned that the church will take legal action against invaders who are determined to grab church land in the eastern part of the country, especially in Kumi district.

He made these remarks during a four-day pastoral visit in Kumi Diocese, which he officially began on March 11, 2024, in the eastern part of Uganda, where he demanded that security agencies intervene in this matter.

Archbishop Kazimba’s warning comes after discovering that a group of invaders, known as the Reformed Anglican Church, continue to occupy church land in Kumi Diocese, despite abandoning the Anglican faith.

“You don’t go with the property of the church where you are posted because you are posted in the church where there are chairs and land; when you go, you leave them because you found them there,” Kazimba said.

Kazimba further expressed discomfort on his tour to Kumi, saying that was very provocative, wrong, and unreal. It shouldn’t actually be tolerated by the government of Uganda because it is provocative and can lead to people losing their lives if it is not intervened with.

The operation led by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Dr. Samuel Stephen Kazimba Mugalu, and the Bishop of Kumi Diocese, Rt. Rev. Michael Okwi Esakhan, in the company of security heads and local government leaders in Kumi and Ngora districts started on March 8, 2024.

The Reformed Anglican Church is owned by Okunya, who was formally a priest working with Kumi Diocese but broke away from the church after losing the leadership as Bishop of Kumi Diocese in 2020.