Saturday 29th August 2026 will go down in the history of Jinja City and Busoga region as a day when heaven touched earth and reminded Ugandans that God still lifts the humble and preserves marriages that honor Him.
Residents abandoned shops, boda-boda riders parked their motorcycles along the roadsides, children lined the streets waving, and the city centre came to a complete standstill as Bishop Dr. Zachariah Sserwadda and his wife Rev. Robinah Sserwadda celebrated 50 years in marriage and 51 years of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in a style that left even the most travelled Ugandans in awe and thanksgiving.
It was not just a celebration. It was a powerful statement of what God can do when a man remains faithful to his wife and to his calling despite starting from nothing.
From Chopper To Donkey-Pulled Rolls Royce – A Day Jinja Has Never Seen Before.
The Sserwaddas did the unexpected and Jinja has never witnessed anything like it in the history of church celebrations.
At around 10:15 am, a chopper was spotted hovering over Jinja City, making several turns over some parts of the city as thousands of people waved and ululated with excitement. Inside was the Jubilee couple.
They had flown from Entebbe International Airport and landed at Main Street Primary School, which is right in the city centre close to the Jinja Central Market and the busy Bugembe-Bugembe coaster stage.
The couple disembarked to a warm welcome from family members, church elders and security officers who had secured the airstrip for the historic landing. Smiles, tears and shouts of praise filled the air.
From Main Street Primary School, the couple did not enter a Range Rover or a Mercedes Benz as many expected. They entered something that shocked even the elders of Jinja – a white, donkey-pulled old model vintage Rolls Royce, carefully decorated with white ribbons and fresh flowers.
Dressed in matching pure white designer attires, Bishop Sserwadda in a white suit and Mama Robinah in a white gown with white headgear, they rode through the city slowly, waving to thousands of people who had gathered along the road to witness the miracle of longevity.
Behind them was a fleet of more than 50 luxurious cars of all colours and brands – Land Cruisers, Mercedes Benzes, Range Rovers, Ford Rangers and Toyota Harriers – all hooting and praising God with loud music.
Leading the procession was the Uganda Police Band, in full ceremonial uniform, beating drums and blowing brass with powerful hymns like “How Great Thou Art” and “To God Be The Glory” that made many shed tears.
The procession snaked from the school to Main Street, through Bell Avenue right in front of Jinja City Council headquarters, past Lubas Road, past Jinja Lubas Road Market, before finally entering Evangel Church World Vision on Oboja Road where the main celebration was held.
Traders abandoned their stalls to watch the procession. Passengers in taxis peeped through windows with excitement. Pastors, Imams, businessmen and school children stood by the roadside to witness the miracle of faithfulness and endurance.
Inside the church, the atmosphere was even more electric and glorious. The church was filled to capacity with more than 1,000 delegates from Kampala, Masaka, Mbale, Iganga, Kamuli, Bugiri, and even from Kenya and Tanzania. Bishops, pastors, politicians, and generational family members – including 10 children and 40 grandchildren – were all seated to honour the couple that has become a symbol of marriage in Busoga and Uganda at large.
Prime Minister’s Message And Why She Chose Minister Nameere.
This celebration coincided with the second edition of the National Cleaning Day – Bulungi Bwansi or Atim-Ikoma in Leblango- a national exercise coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, aimed at promoting cleanliness and community service across Uganda.
Because the Prime Minister was personally leading the national exercise in another part of the country, she could not attend the Jinja jubilee in person. She instead delegated her State Minister for Local Government, Hon. Justine Nameere Nsubuga, to represent her and preside over the celebrations on her behalf as Chief Guest.
And when Hon. Nameere stepped to the podium, she completely owned the moment with humility, beauty and grace that captivated everyone in the tent.
Contrary to what many expected in Jinja, Hon. Nameere was not in a traditional gomesi. She appeared in a very beautiful long pinkish dress known as a kitetei, spotted with mild white flower decorations that made her shine with elegance and simplicity. The Exposure Uganda (TEU) journalist who covered the event observed that the minister looked radiant and confident, blending modern fashion with respectful decency.
She complemented her kitetei with a golden watch on her left wrist, a black shade – fashionable dark sun goggles – that gave her a polished and confident look, and small elegant earrings that glittered as she spoke. Her hair was beautifully curled, long, and not plaited, flowing freely and adding to her stunning appearance. She looked every inch a modern, polished and confident minister of the new generation.
Hon. Nameere, who is also the Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament, introduced herself not as a big minister, but as a small, humble girl who has been favoured by God beyond her imagination.
She told the congregation that she had a very tight programme in her Masaka constituency that Saturday, with scheduled radio programmes, constituency meetings, and a burial and a party she was supposed to attend as an elected leader. But when she received a call from the Prime Minister’s office that she had been chosen to represent the Prime Minister at Bishop Sserwadda’s golden jubilee, she cancelled everything without hesitation because she considered it a divine honour.
“I am not only happy but deeply humbled that among many senior and veteran ministers in Cabinet, ministers who have served for more than 20 years, the Prime Minister chose me, a junior minister, a child in Cabinet, to come and preside over this very joyous and blessed jubilee celebration,” she said with visible emotion and sincerity.
She kept asking throughout her address in rhetoric, “Who Am I?” – a phrase that immediately reminded many Christians of the famous gospel song “Who Am I” by Casting Crowns, which says, “Who am I that the eyes that see my sin would look on me with love and watch me rise again… Not because of who I am, but because of what You’ve done, not because of what I’ve done, but because of who You are.”
Hon. Nameere said she kept asking “Who Am I?” because she knows exactly where God picked her from. Five years ago, she was a Senior Presidential Advisor, largely unknown to many Ugandans outside Masaka.
Today, she is a State Minister sitting on the front bench of Cabinet, representing the Prime Minister at a historic golden jubilee. “It is only mercy and grace of God that has lifted me to this level,” she said, inviting the entire congregation to stand and join her in praising and thanking God for His mercy and grace over her life.
The entire congregation stood, clapped, and praised God with her in a moment that was both spiritual and emotional.
She then made a powerful political statement that left many people nodding in approval and admiration for her courage.
“I want you to know that I am part of the New NRM Stock. I am part of the new polished NRM cadres who tell the truth to the appointing authority who is President Museveni, the Fountain of Honour,” she declared boldly without fear.
She explained that the new stock of NRM cadres are not those who sit in air-conditioned offices in Kampala and say “Yes Sir” to everything,or concoct flowery reports even when things are going wrong on the ground in villages and districts.
They are cadres who have courage to tell the President the truth – that corruption is killing service delivery, that some Chief Administrative Officers and Town Clerks have become landlords and real estate owners in the districts, that ordinary people are tired of excuses and want results.
“We tell Mzee the truth because we love him and we love NRM and we want the party to remain strong and trusted by the people. If we keep quiet and pretend all is well when people are suffering because their money is being stolen by civil servants, we are betraying him and betraying Ugandans who voted for us,” she said firmly.
This statement was received with thunderous applause and ululation, especially from ordinary Christians who have been following her and her senior minister Hon. Balaam Barugahara on television and social media, ordering arrests of corrupt civil servants in local governments across the country.
Nameere’s Hard Talk On Corruption And Call For Prayer.
Hon. Nameere used the pulpit to preach a hard gospel against corruption, which she described as the biggest hindrance to national development and the reason why many government programmes fail to reach the intended beneficiaries.
She said that ever since her appointment together with Hon. Balaam, they have traversed different parts of the country and what they have found is shocking and heartbreaking. Corruption is no longer petty or occasional – it is entrenched and institutionalised in the civil service at district level.
The very people at the centre of planning and delivering services – the Chief Administrative Officers, Town Clerks, District Engineers, and Chief Finance Officers and the District Health Officers,among others are the ones who are stealing public funds meant for roads, drugs in health centres, schools and clean water.
“Service delivery has remained a major challenge in many districts while civil servants drive posh cars and own multiple bungalows, apartments and other private projects that are clearly built from taxpayers’ money,” she lamented with concern.
She asked religious leaders to pray for success in the country’s fight against corruption, because it will need divine intervention and moral reawakening to uproot completely from the system.
Hon Nameere gave her own personal testimony of integrity to encourage believers.
During her five-year tenure as Senior Presidential Advisor in Masaka before joining Cabinet, she said powerful and wealthy business people tried to compromise her with large sums of money from illegal land deals and market tenders. They would bring brown envelopes to her office and promise her more if she cooperated, but she completely resisted the temptation and reported them.
“Corruption signifies a breakdown of the moral fibre of our society. I urge parents and guardians to join efforts to eliminate this problem by raising God-fearing children who will not steal public funds when they eventually get offices,” she advised the congregation.
Praise For the Sserwaddas As A Model Of Marriage And Family.
Hon. Nameere could not stop praising Bishop Sserwadda and Mama Robinah for their successful marriage, ministry and family, which she described as an inspiration to the whole nation.
She described them as an anointed steward couple who, despite facing many obstacles and persecutions in ministry, remained committed to each other, to the church, and to God, and together raised a God-fearing family of 10 children and 40 grandchildren who are all serving God in different capacities.
“In this era where many people die before they even get married, where many marriages are full of scandals and social media drama, where others divorce before completing one year, Bishop and Mama have shown us that marriage can work, that love can last for 50 years, and that family can be a powerful ministry that preaches louder than words,” she said.
She thanked Mama Robinah for standing faithfully with her husband during the most difficult days when they were extremely needy, with poor dressing, poor feeding, no chairs, meeting under trees and in small rented rooms where offering was sometimes cassava, beans and matooke. “Many women would have left such a man in those conditions, but you stayed and prayed and believed in his vision. You are the true Proverbs 31 woman and Masaka and Jinja celebrate you,” she said.
The Book Launch – “Pressed Down But Not Crushed”
The climax of the day was the launch of Bishop Sserwadda’s long-awaited memoir titled “Pressed Down But Not Crushed.”
The title is picked from Apostle Paul’s powerful testimony in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, which says: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
When Paul wrote those words around AD 55-56 while in Macedonia, he was in his lowest moment of ministry. He had just survived a near-death experience in Asia where, in his own words, “we despaired of life itself” (2 Cor 1:8). He had been beaten with rods three times, stoned once, shipwrecked three times, imprisoned several times, hungry, cold and left homeless.
In Corinth, false apostles had invaded his church, telling believers that Paul was a fake apostle because he suffered too much and was not eloquent like them.
Paul answered them not with his achievements, but with his scars. He said God deliberately puts His treasure in jars of clay – weak, breakable people – so that when the jar is pressed and cracks, people see it is God’s power holding it together, not man’s strength.
Bishop Sserwadda told the congregation that this scripture is his complete autobiography. In the book, he gives a raw and detailed account of his journey from selling matooke on the streets of Jinja, to becoming a village photographer taking passport photos for survival, to starting Evangel Church World Vision with only a handful of believers who had nothing.
From that despised beginning to today – a man who can hire a chopper from Entebbe and be gifted a brand-new Ford Ranger double cabin worth more than Shs 200 million by his church members – is only God’s grace and faithfulness.
Launching the book, Hon. Nameere handed to the Sserwaddas a cash gift of Shs 10 million from the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, and officially launched both Bishop Sserwadda’s book and another powerful book authored by Mama Robinah Sserwadda on marriage, motherhood and submission.
She said the book should challenge civil servants and all Ugandans who have chosen corruption as a way of life: “Bishop Sserwadda was pressed but not crushed because he chose integrity over shortcuts. You can be poor and still remain God-fearing. That is the message Uganda needs today more than ever before.”
Why Couples Must Celebrate Their Marriage In This Generation.
Why should couples celebrate their life and marriage in an era where many die before marriage while others divorce before one year, while others are full of scandals and domestic violence?
Bishop Sserwadda, preaching from his new book, gave the answer that touched many hearts in the congregation.
First, marriage is under serious attack in this generation. Young people are dying in accidents, from diseases, from stress and depression before they even marry. Others marry and divorce in 3 months, 6 months, or one year.
Others stay married but live-in cold war, cheating, bitterness and public scandals on Tiktok, WhatsApp and Facebook. To reach 50 years together, faithful, still in love, still serving God together, with 10 children and 40 grandchildren, is not ordinary – it is a miracle that deserves public thanksgiving and celebration.
Celebration is a testimony to the next generation. When Bishop Sserwadda and his wife drove through Jinja in white, they were telling the young generation: Marriage can work. Love can last. God can keep you if you put Him at the centre of your union.
Second, it is good to thank God for every step and every day of the journey. The Sserwaddas did not start with a chopper and a Rolls Royce. They started with matooke and a camera, with poor clothes and little food. Every step – the first convert, the first child, the first grandchild, the 10th child, the 40th grandchild – was God’s mercy.
If you do not thank God for 10 years, you will not reach 20. If you don’t thank Him for 20, you will not reach 50. Thanksgiving is what multiplies marriage and preserves it for generations.
That is why the Bible says in Psalm 100:4, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” The Sserwaddas entered their 50th year with deep thanksgiving, and Jinja will never forget the celebration.
Conclusion.
The ceremony was attended by religious leaders from various denominations in Busoga and Kampala, including Pastor Joseph Sserwadda of Victory Christian Centre Ndeeba and Pastor David Kiganda of Christianity Focus Centre, as well as politicians, business people, and thousands of believers who filled the church to overflowing.
By the time celebrations ended at 6:00 pm, Jinja was still buzzing with excitement – about the helicopter that landed at Kimaka, the donkey-pulled Rolls Royce that stunned the city, the police band that led worship, the Ford Ranger gift, the two books launched, and about the bold young minister in a pink kitetei with a golden watch, black shades and beautifully curled long hair who asked “Who Am I?” and declared she is part of the new polished NRM stock that tells truth to President Museveni, the Fountain of Honor.
Indeed, the Sserwaddas who later hosted guests at the spacious Uganda Civil Service College grounds for a reception have proved to Uganda that even when you are pressed down by life, you are not crushed when God is on your side.
