Zadock Amanyisa || Tayari News
BUSHENYI – Christians, including clergy and laity in West Ankole Diocese and the entire Church of Uganda (COU), are experiencing a cloud of multi-layered grief following the death of Rev. Bernard Mushabe, 60, who has been serving as a senior clergy and Diocesan Education Secretary.
Rev. Mushabe’s death was announced on Tuesday morning by West Ankole diocesan authorities. This threw the COU family, friends and relatives into a sense of void. The Shepherd has been battling an illness that has yet to be disclosed, an illness that finally claimed his life at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
While most people knew that Rev. Mushabe had been hospitalised, a few believed the saddening news. On Monday, he participated in a WhatsApp conversation about the affairs in his Education department.
This publication accessed a message that Rev. Mushabe last typed on DOWA Official, the main WhatsApp group for the Diocese of West Ankole.
“Dear DOWA, thanks for continuing to stand with us in this health-threatening experience. I pray that as educationists, we heed the above insights. It’s a continental complex, but we can change it from some source. A journey of 100 miles begins with the first step. We shun the blame game and go practical, pragmatic.” Rev Mushabe typed
“Our governance and management teams? BOG, SMC, PTA- let your committees generate grand ideas from your table discussions. Every time you point a finger at the church, remember you are talking about yourself because you are the Church herself. The church gave you trust and a mandate as her confidante: apply that mandate to generate approval from your parents, not to either clandestinely or controversially undermine. I was tickled by that article. Peace.” He added.
The above texts show how committed to work Rev. Mushabe was in the sense that even on his hospital bed, the Reverend’s mind was on the affairs back home and office, given the prevailing internet restrictions.
The Rt. Rev. Johnson Twinomujuni, the Bishop of West Ankole Diocese, has been not only a boss, but also a personal friend of Rev. Mushabe, standing “at a meeting place of sorrow and thanksgiving, where Christian lament is steadied by the resurrection hope.”
The Bishop will remember Rev Mushabe as a Church Priest, Diocesan Education Secretary, theologian, teacher, a trusted friend, and a steward of words who “moved easily between Runyankore and English, not to impress, but to clarify and to inform.”
“He knew that words shape worlds, and that when language drifts from virtue, societies soon follow. When he quoted literature or Scripture, it was never ornamental. It was formative. As Diocesan Education Secretary, Bernard understood education as formation before God, not mere credentialing. His theological training at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, USA, also my alma mater, gave him rigour and breadth, but his pastoral instincts kept his theology warm.” Bishop Twinomujuni eulogised his friend.
According to the Bishop, the departing clergy in Mushabe believed that doctrine exists for doxology, and that orthodoxy without love, however precise, is only noise.
Rev. Mushabe came into the limelight around 2016 when he, his then-boss, Rt. Rev. Sheldon Mwesigwa and Ms Jennifer Nduhura were dragged to court after the trio confronted unsound doctrine by a clergyman from a different denomination. The case, however, came to a close when they reconciled with their accuser.
“He was a careful and confident expositor of Scripture. He did not bully the text or sentimentalise it. He let it speak, to confront and to comfort. Many learned from him that clarity is not an enemy of depth.”
Bishop Twinomujuni also remembers Mushabe as a gifted translator, in the fullest sense of the word.
“He translated my charge at my consecration from English into Runyankore, carrying not just words but weight and meaning across worlds. He also translated the Diocesan Strategic Plan, patiently ensuring that vision became intelligible and shared. He built bridges with sentences.” Says Bishop
Rev. Mushabe’s Bible exposition and translation gifts were displayed at the West Ankole Diocesan annual youth and students’ convention, where he spoke with clarity and knowledge of the scriptures.
The Bishop further described Mushabe as a cultured scout who could read the terrain well, carry a reliable compass, tie intellectual knots that held under strain, and guide others along the trail without shouting commands.
The late clergyman’s life made an impact in communities where he served as a teacher, chaplain and priest. He taught literature and English at Kyeizoba Girls SS, Ntare, and other institutions, including Uganda Bible Institute.
Mr Paul Aruho remembers Rev. Mushabe as a teacher who would dive into plays and novels, and bring scenes straight to the students’ minds.
“He coached me and others over the holidays, and you would see his expertise at work. He is someone who would interpret situations as if he authored the novel. That was him!” Mr. Aruho acclaimed
Rev. Alex Wamanya, a staffer in the Bishop’s Office at Bweranyangi, describes his boss as a mentor who wished him the best, while Rev. Patience Ariho, the diocesan Inspector of Schools, will remember Mushabe as a leader whose support the team relied on for the development of the education standards in the diocese.
“He always wanted me to learn new things at the workplace.” Said Rev. Wamanya
Rev. Mushabe will be buried at his home in Nyakibeere, Kasaana sub-county, Sheema District on Friday, 23rd January 20, 2026. He is survived by a widow and three children.