Anglican dioceses of Buganda


The Anglican dioceses of Buganda are the Anglican presence in the Central Region, Uganda ; they are part of the Church of Uganda. The remaining dioceses of the Church are in the areas of Eastern Uganda, of Northern Uganda, of Ankole and Kigezi, and of Rwenzori.

Diocese of Namirembe

The first Anglican church structure in what is now Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania was the Diocese of Eastern Equatorial Africa, which was erected in June 1884. The first bishop was James Hannington, who made the diocesan headquarters at Mombasa, but he was assassinated on 8 February 1886. The third Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, Alfred Tucker, resolved to divide the diocese: he stayed on as Bishop of Uganda, while Kenya and part of northern Tanganyika became the Diocese of Mombasa; the division was effected in 1898.
From then until 1926 — when the Diocese of Upper Nile was dividing from it — the Diocese of Uganda included all Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, in what was then the country of Zaire. On 1 July 1960, in preparation for the formation of an independent church province, the diocese was split in five: one of the smaller new dioceses retained the same bishop and became the Diocese of Namirembe. After the division, the diocese's territory was East Buganda and Busoga.
Brown was elected to become the first archbishop of the new province and took up the post in 1961, when the eight dioceses were erected into the Church of the Province of Uganda and Ruanda-Urundi. The arrangement whereby the Archbishop was elected ended in 1977, when the Bishop of Kampala became Archbishop ex officio.
Since 1890, throughout its many changes, the diocese's mother church has been St Paul's Cathedral, on Namirembe hill in Kampala. The current building is the fifth Namirembe Cathedral on the same site.

Bishops of Eastern Equatorial Africa

In 1957, preparing for the split into five dioceses, Brown oversaw the creation of five "areas", to be overseen by himself and his four suffragans:
  • Ruanda-Urundi had already been under Brazier's oversight since 1951
  • April/May 1957 onwards: Lutaya had the West Buganda area
  • 5 May 1957 onwards: Shalita, for Ankole-Kigezi
  • 9 May 1957 onwards: Brown took direct oversight of the East Buganda and Busoga area
  • 16 May 1957before 1 May 1960: Balya was assistant bishop for Toro-Bunyoro until his retirement
  • 1 May 1960 onwards: Sabiti succeeded Balya over Toro-Bunyoro-Mboga
On the split in 1960, the five men became diocesan bishops of their areas.

Bishops of Namirembe

One of the five dioceses erected in 1960 from the Uganda diocese was that of West Buganda. Lutaaya was made the first Bishop of West Buganda; in 1964, he moved the diocesan headquarters from Masaka to his hometown Mityana, which caused trouble in Masaka. The controversy rolled on and delayed Tomusange's enthronement in September 1966.
Her cathedral has been St Paul's Cathedral, Kako since before 1974.

Bishops of West Buganda

Founded in 1972 from Namirembe diocese, the diocesan bishop of Kampala has always been Archbishop of Uganda. Because of the archbishop's national duties, there have often been assistant bishops in the diocese; the cathedral is All Saints on Nakasero hill, central Kampala.

Assistant Bishops of Kampala

Assistant bishops have included:
Erected from West Buganda and inaugurated on 22 May 1977, the Diocese of Mityana has its bishop's seat at St Andrew's Cathedral, Namukozi.

Bishops of Mityana

Mukono diocese was divided from Namirembe diocese in 1983, when Mpalanyi-Nkoyoyo, an assistant bishop of Namirembe, was elected the new diocese's first bishop. The mother church is SS Andrew & Philip Cathedral, Mukono.

Bishops of Mukono

Rt Rev Enos Kitto Kagodo
  • 26 February 2023 Present

    Diocese of Luweero

Founded from the Diocese of Namirembe in 1991, the cathedral is St Mark's, Luweero.

Bishops of Luweero

Rt. Rev. Wilson Kisekka 2024- present

Diocese of Central Buganda

In 1995, the Diocese of Central Buganda was created by splitting territory from the West Buganda diocese. The cathedral is at Kasaka, St John's.

Bishops of Central Buganda