It is with great sadness that we received news from Bishop Dan Zoreka late on June 15th of the death that evening in Kampala of Bishop Benon Magezi of North Kigezi Diocese, at the age of 60. Bishop Benon’s battle with Covid-19 had begun two weeks earlier when he was admitted to hospital in Mbarara.

He was consecrated as Bishop in January 2017 and is the second good friend of WATSAN lost to the pandemic, following the death last year in the UK of Sir John Houghton.

Prior to being installed as Bishop of North Kigezi in January 2017, Benon had been Treasurer of North Kigezi Diocese. He served for many years on the Ugandan WATSAN Management Committee. Members of the St Peter’s Bishops Waltham tour of the project in August 2017 will remember him at the inauguration of the Rumbugu Primary School project (pictured).

Each of the WATSAN projects, small and large, completed in his Diocese since then, has been graced with his presence at their inauguration ceremonies. In 2018 he led the first Ugandan Walk for Water, which raised over £4,000 for our Bwambara community project. In 2019 he visited the UK with his wife Gladys and confirmed his ongoing support and enthusiasm for WATSAN.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gladys and their five children, our friends and colleagues in the WATSAN team, and across the Diocese at large, devastated by this sudden tragic loss of their leader. The UK Trustees give thanks to God for Bishop Benon’s faithful leadership in Rukungiri, where the WATSAN team is based, and for his friendship and support over many years, culminating in his four years as Bishop of North Kigezi.