Rev. Godfrey Loum became the 8th Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Uganda on November 21 this year following his consecration and enthronement. He replaced Rt. Rev. Johnson Gakumba who had been at the helm of the diocese since 2009.
Nearly, a month since his consecration, Rev. Loum shared his journey into becoming a Bishop in an exclusive interview with Uganda Radio Network-URN on Tuesday. Despite growing up in a family of staunch Anglican believers, Rev. Loum says that he never predicted that he would one day become a leader in the Anglican church.
In fact, as a child, Loum says he had dreams of becoming a lecturer in a theological college or University. However, in 1993, when he failed to Join the University after sitting his Advanced Level examinations at Comboni College in Lira, frustration set in, triggering a change in his humble life.
Loum had passed the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education-UACE but had not attained enough points to allow him to get on the government sponsorship. His mother, who was the breadwinner at the time, had no money. Loum says he turned to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes due to frustration.
Rev. Loum says for five years, he was lost in drinking all manners of alcohol and smoking cigarettes. He was a menace in the community and his family lost all hopes in him.
However, on October 4, 1998, Loum got a calling and became born again. He says the decision helped him to focus on his vision in life. First, he started working in his church in Bungatira by reading scripture for the day, leading prayers, and preaching.
He later embarked on visiting other churches as a visiting preacher and before long he had been elected as the youth leader representing his parish to the synod.
Journey to Priesthood
Confident that he had found a new calling, Rev Loum offered himself for an ordination course in 2000 but missed it. His second attempt in 2001 yielded results when he was admitted into the ordination course at Uganda Christian University in Mukono.
According to Loum after his graduation in 2004, the Church of Uganda posted him to the Youth Office as a youth worker in the Northern Uganda Diocese. From there, he was posted as Chaplain at St Joseph’s College Layibi and later as curate at Christ Church in charge of St. Janani Loum.
He rose to become the assistant vicar and later the vicar of Christ Church by 2021. On August 12, 2021, when the Church of Uganda announced the 8th Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Uganda, Rev. Loum said that he was surprised to be informed by a colleague he had been elected.
According to Loum, all along he had felt unworthy and never had any idea one day he would be elected as a bishop because of his background of smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.
Not interested in becoming a bishop
When the then sitting Bishop Rt. Rev Gakumba tendered in his early resignation, the Church of Uganda embarked on a search for the next replacement. According to Rev. Loum, he knew well he was most likely going to be among the candidates who would be nominated but chose deliberately not to update his file.
He says that he wasn’t interested in becoming a Bishop since he had secured a scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. course in a London University. Rev. Loum, however, says the Church of Uganda later asked all clergies in the diocese to submit their curriculum vitae-CV but he again deliberately submitted his CV without other vital information so as not to be nominated. He says his interest was to go abroad and study after the processes of electing a new bishop were concluded.
He says that he was surprised that even after all attempts to evade becoming a Bishop, the Church of Uganda went ahead and elected him. Rev. Loum believes it was God’s plan to have him elected even when he clearly had no interest in becoming a Bishop.
However, after his election by the House of Bishops, two members of the laity of the Diocese of Northern Uganda dragged the Church of Uganda to court for breach of the Canon Laws.
The petitioners, Tom Mboya Okecho and Emmanuel Omwony, through their lawyers Waymo Advocates on October 19th, 2021, filed a suit at the Gulu High Court seeking a permanent injunction against the consecration of Rev. Loum.
They alleged that the election was conducted in violation of the Provincial canons, adding that the Bishop’s nomination committee chaired by Francis Gimara was illegal and unconstitutional. The petitioners later withdrew their suit against Rev. Loum.
Rev. Loum told URN in an interview that he has forgiven the petitioners for their action against him and the church of Christ.
Plans for the Diocese
The 49-year-old Bishop says his first priority for the diocese is to ensure that the diocese becomes self-sufficient to support the welfare of the clergies and establish decent accommodation for them.
He also notes that he intends to improve on Church Founded schools as a center of excellence for the education of children and strengthen the provision of health services in the diocese.
