The Bishop Emeritus of Hoima Catholic Diocese, Albert Edward Baharagate Akiiki has died.
Baharagate passed on at Nsambya Hospital where he has been admitted on Wednesday night, according to Bishop of Hoima Catholic Diocese Vincent Kirabo.
“Dear people of God, the Bishop of Hoima Catholic Diocese, The Rt Rev Vincent Kirabo with deep sorrow announces the death of the Bishop Emeritus of Hoima Catholic Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Albert Edward Baharagate Akiiki,” Bishop Kirabo announced in a short text massage.
The Chancellor of Hoima Catholic Diocese Rev Fr Dominic Ndugwa said burial arrangements are underway.
Baharagate was one of the 12 bishops who were consecrated on August 1, 1969 by Pope Paul VI during a colourful ceremony at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.
Of the 12 bishops consecrated that day, four were from Uganda, including Barnabas Halem’Imana, Bishop of Kabale; Sarapio Bwemi Magambo, Auxiliary Bishop of Fort Portal; John Baptist Kakubi, Bishop of Mbarara; and Baharagate of Hoima. Besides the four from Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria had two bishops each. Cameroon, Zambia, Gabon and Burkina Faso produced one bishop each.
Currently only one out of the 12 is still alive; former Archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia, Emmanuel Milingo who was ex-communicated and reduced to lay status in 2009 for going against church doctrines.
Baharagate retired in 1991 at the age of 61. According to the Canon Law, the retirement age for a Catholic bishop is 75 years.
Alifunsi Tugwezire, who has lived with, and supported, Bishop Baharagate for 42 years, says that at the time of his retirement the bishop had ill health as he was suffering from hypertension and diabetes which had weakened him.
When Baharagate announced his retirement, the diocese rushed to prepare for him a retirement home in Masindi given the fact that every diocese is responsible for contributing to the living expenses of its retired bishops. However, due to financial constraints, they failed to take off but the bishop chose to retire from Kampala and was hosted at Our Lady of Fatima, Nakulabye Parish where he lived for over 30 years.
He said that he chose to retire outside his diocese due to many reasons, among which was to ensure that his successor was not in his shadow. He nonetheless kept making pastoral visits to different Hoima parishes with permission from the reigning bishop.