The Archbishop, Stephen Kaziimba has described the late State Minister for Defence, Sarah Mateke as a humble churchgoer unlike many MPs and leaders.
Mateke, who also served as the Kisoro Woman Member of Parliament (MP), died on Saturday morning after reportedly suffering a heart attack.
While leading the prayers and vigil, at Parliament for Mateke, Kaziimba said that, unlike other MPs and leaders, the deceased minister has been coming to church Early and was always humble sitting behind.
“She has been coming to worship. She has been a humble lady, she comes and sits far in the corner where you can’t see her. But some other people especially Members of Parliament and leaders, when they come late, they move forward. Even when there is no seat, they look around, haven’t you seen me? But Sarah was always sitting behind,” Kaziimba said.
Describing Mateke's death as untimely, Kaziimba said he was shocked upon hearing the news of her death, noting that the country still had a lot of expectations in her.
"Humanly speaking, we are saddened by the untimely death because we can’t know what God planned from our side. But 50years, really, we were still expecting a lot. But none of us can question God what He is doing and you can’t challenge Him, because He is God," Kaziimba said.
He added, "But as human beings, we are left with questions, why this? Why this is happening. Personally, when I saw the message, I was shocked, but it was a WhatsApp message and these days, you can say somebody is dead, but the person is living. But after it was confirmed."
The Archbishop, further thanked the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among for organizing the prayers and vigil at the Parliament for the former Kisoro District Woman MP.
"Thank you Speaker for the call and organizing this,” he said.
Born on July 15, 1974, Sarah Mateke, a dedicated politician and philanthropist, initially served as a town clerk for Kisoro District.
She was elected as the Kisoro District Woman MP from 2011 to 2016.
She was re-elected in 2021 and subsequently appointed by President Museveni as the State Minister for Gender, Labour, and Social Development, in charge of children and youth affairs.
In a recent cabinet reshuffle, she was appointed as the State Minister for Defence.