The House of Bishops of the Church of Uganda has nullified the election of the Rev. Charles Okunya Oode as Bishop of Kumi.
Fr Okunya was elected bishop in November in succession to the Rt. Rev. Thomas Edison Irigei and was scheduled to be consecrated on 29 Dec 2019. However, a petition was lodged by a lay group called the Concerned Christians of Kumi Diocese which alleged the bishop-elect had been unfaithful in his marriage and had sired children outside of wedlock.
The House of Bishops investigated the allegations, but overturned the election on 5 Feb 2020 when it discovered the new bishop was below the necessary canonical age. In his letter to the Kumi Diocesan Chancellor the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, stated that the House of Bishops had reviewed Rev Okunya’s National Identity Card, NIRA records, passport, academic records from Uganda Christian University and those submitted by the diocese, during the vetting process and established that he was born on November 23, 1975, indicating that he was a year younger than the necessary age to become a bishop according to Article 13 of the church constitution.
