Rev Can Eng Paul Wasswa Ssembiro is the Chaplain of Uganda Christian University (UCU). A mechanical engineer, teacher and preacher, his careers have taken him different places. He has been an Assistant Lecturer at Makerere University and Kyambogo University, worked as a Provincial Missions Coordinator to the Church of Uganda, and served as National Team Leader of African Evangelistic Enterprise. He shares his aspirations, life and achievements with Joseph Kiyimba.
With his education and experience, he emerged in the new role at UCU in 2019. This was when the previous Chaplain, Rev Can Dr Rebecca Nyegenye Margaret Ajambo, left for another position at All Saints’ Cathedral Kampala earlier that year.
His role
Before being appointed Chaplain, the reverend had been ministering in public universities for years.
“I have been ministering at UCU since 1999; visiting this campus as a speaker during Mission Week and Chapel time. I have preached at Makerere and Kyambogo universities, and comparing audiences, I think that of UCU was a wonderful fit for me,” he narrates, adding that it was the reason he accepted the chaplaincy role.
Describing his role, Eng Wasswa says that chaplaincy is a broad calling. Primarily, it entails spiritual formation and spiritual oversight for the university community.
“The chaplaincy office falls into a wider umbrella of spiritual formation. Planning for ministry and evangelism, mentoring and counseling students; leading the chaplain team and supporting the university on matters of spirituality and ethics,” he says.
He cites Ephesians 4:11-13, as the scripture that defines his ministry.
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
One of his major achievements as Chaplain at UCU, he explains, was the fact that he championed the establishment of a savings group, which has helped so much on eradication of poverty among staff; also winning hundreds of people to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
He adds that they are now constructing a worship sanctuary, with a big outdoor space, where students or staff can meet for other Chapel activities.
On why he no longer lectures, Eng Wasswa says he declined the requests by the university to take on the teaching role at the engineering department, despite his background in engineering.
“I have a passion for teaching, and that is why I call myself a teaching evangelist. UCU management requested me and I declined the offer because I don’t want to starve my people. I am open to considering but not immediately,” he says.
Experience with students
He describes it as exciting, yet challenging; but again emphasizes that his major role to students is to help them find direction and purpose in life.
“Young people can be lost at times, and so, the values and ethics we pass on are to ensure we end up with God fearing graduates, who honor God, to make a difference and be different in the job market,” he says.
However, the man of God says the most difficult part of being a University Chaplain is seeing bright needy students, who cannot continue studying because of lack of tuition fees.
“Also meeting students whose lives get destroyed because of dangerous habits like drinking [alcohol], smoking, fornication and drug abuse,” he adds.
The solution to the above, he says, is constant teaching, pastoral care and counseling.
The other challenge he faces is lacking a chapel structure for community engagement throughout the week in terms of organizing activities related to spiritual development.
But despite challenges at work, he says he is so far successful and attributes his fruitful stay at UCU to teamwork spirit and service beyond self.
Background
Born on August 22, 1970 to Herbert Luwaga Mwenge, a secondary classroom teacher (RIP) and Florence Nakintu Luwaga Nalongo, a retired civil servant, of Kitemu Namutamba village, Mityana district, Eng Wasswa is married to Tamar Ssembiro since 2000. They have four children together.
He attended Kyambogo Primary School, Kyambogo College for his “O” level and St Mary’s College Kisubi (SMACK) for his “A” level.
He joined Makerere University, for a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (1990 -1994), and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (1997 -2001).
Perhaps, an invisible power of God was always availing chances in line with his career ambition, because after his Master’s degree in Engeneering, he was offered a scholarship to pursue another Master’s degree of Arts in Theology and Ministry, from 2011 up to 2013, at Fuller Theological Seminary, California – USA.
In December 2013, he was ordained a Deacon in the Diocese of Kampala and in December 2014, he was ordained a Priest in the same Diocese. In February 2022, he was installed as a Canon in the Diocese of Lango.
He says his calling into Ministry has been progressive.
“I got saved in 1982 when I was in P.6, but evangelism started in Church choir. My first congregational preaching was in 1988, then in 1990. While at Makerere University, I joined the chaplain’s evangelism team and later Kigezi, Ankole Youth Missionaries in 1995,” he recalls.
He also served as mission’s coordinator for St Francis Chapel, Makerere University.
Meanwhile, long before he joined fulltime Ministry, as he carried on with his engineering profession, but always felt a spiritual urge to serve God.
In March 2003, he says God loudly spoke to him to leave the engineering profession and start serving Him fulltime.
He taught at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Makerere University from 1994 up to 2008, and in 2009, he joined fulltime Ministry.
Inspiration
He passionately talks about the retired Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi as one of the most significant people in his life.
“I have a fantastic mentor in Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi. He always gave me the opportunity to substitute him as a preacher, nationally and internationally,” Eng Waswa says.
He speaks of him as one that has incredible work ethics and passion for Evangelism.
Comparing the Church of 1990s and that of today, he says: “Although the Constitution of Uganda provides for freedom of worship, President Museveni should copy a leaf from his Rwandan counterpart President Paul Kagame, who made a decree that every religious leader should have a minimum of a Diploma in Theology.”
He adds that those who do not meet this requirement, their Churches or worship places be closed.
He argues that this is the only way to save the Church in Uganda. He further explains that the Gospel is being lost; where there is loss of accountability, disunity and Christianity is losing meaning.
Talking about the present Church stirs emotion and as he explains the ‘chaos’ that is going on, you can almost feel the sadness in his tone.
He toughly talks about ritual sacrifice and child sacrifice, in which some men of God are allegedly involved.
“It’s barbaric and uncultured. As Church, we condemn those criminal acts and I urge police to put much efforts in fighting the vice,” he says.
He affirms that culture needs to be transformed through teaching Christians in the Church and emphasizing their relationship with Jesus Christ, based on the Biblical point of view.
Hobbies
You would think all he does is spread the Gospel and sing hymns, but the soft spoken cleric plays too!
He enjoys singing, playing music, (piano), meeting with friends and watching detective movies during his free time.
What people say
Benson Amanya, a Theology student at UCU says Canon Wasswa is a gifted man of God.
“I worked closely with Canon Waswa while I served as Guild Religious Affairs Minister at UCU. He is a gifted evangelist and teacher of the Word, who invests time in preparation,” Amanya says, “He always sticks to his organised notes and never settles for average results.”
Dickson Tumuramye, an administrative officer at the university also says Canon Wasswa is: “Open minded, supportive and has a strong interest for purity among youth.”
Tumuramye says he has known the UCU Chaplain since 2004 when he was still a student at Makerere and shared Scripture Union Band membership with Canono Wasswa.
He says even when the canon was already a staff, participated in choir practice and sang with the students.
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