A new national cleanup law in Uganda nearly forced Seventh-day Adventists to choose between civic duty and the Sabbath. Here’s how church leaders and government officials worked out a solution — in under a month.
The Law
In August 2025, Uganda’s Cabinet, chaired by President Yoweri Museveni, approved a National Cleaning Day initiative to address a national sanitation crisis, with officials citing poor hygiene as a factor in roughly 75 percent of the country’s disease burden. Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja formally announced the policy in mid-2026: the last Saturday of every month, from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m., would be set aside for mandatory community cleaning nationwide, with non-essential movement banned, businesses closed, and only emergency and security vehicles permitted on the roads. The first National Cleaning Day was held on July 25, 2026.
The Conflict
The Saturday morning window fell squarely inside the Sabbath, observed by Seventh-day Adventists from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, putting the new policy immediately at odds with the church’s practice. On July 24, 2026, Pastor Samuel Kajoba, president of the Uganda Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists, wrote to the church addressing the conflict and confirmed that leadership was in direct talks with government. His position was measured rather than oppositional: “While the Seventh-day Adventist Church fully supports initiatives that promote a clean and healthy environment, we remain committed to the sanctity of the Seventh-day Sabbath as ordained by God.”
The Church’s negotiating channel ran partly through Adventist members already serving in government. Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda, who also directs the Busoga field of the SDA Church’s Women’s Ministry, joined Kajoba and Minister Cissy Mulondo in petitioning President Museveni directly over the timing conflict.
The Resolution
On August 12, 2026, Prime Minister Nabbanja announced that Museveni had granted the exemption. “In recognition of the Sabbath observance of the Seventh-day Adventist community, and following guidance by H.E. the President, the Seventh-day Adventists will remain at home during the designated cleaning time,” she said. Adventist members would instead complete their community cleaning on the last Sunday of the month, and could head to church once the government’s 10:00 a.m. movement restriction lifted. Babalanda publicly thanked the president: “I want to thank H.E. the President for considering the SDA fraternity to worship their God as established by God Himself.”
On August 16, 2026, at a church camp meeting in Wakiso attended by more than 1,000 Adventists, Kajoba formally directed members on the new arrangement, summarizing the church’s position plainly: “The only thing we could resist was cleaning on the Sabbath, because that is contrary to our faith.” Sabbath School start time was shifted from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. to align with the government’s movement window, and members were directed to carry out their cleaning obligations the following day.
Where It Stands
By the second National Cleaning Day, held August 29, 2026, the exemption was already in effect and the church was cooperating fully on its own Sunday schedule. The dispute moved from first friction to full presidential accommodation in roughly three weeks — a notably fast resolution for a religious liberty question, and one that has since drawn attention elsewhere in the region.
Sources: Daily Monitor, allAfrica.com, Watchdog Uganda
