National Cleaning Days: Babalanda lauds President Museveni over SDA exemption

What the report says

Uganda’s Minister for the Presidency, Milly Babalanda, has praised President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for approving a request from the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church to adjust the government’s National Cleaning Day schedule so it does not conflict with the church’s Sabbath. The development was discussed at an inter-ministerial meeting on the cleaning programme at the Prime Minister’s Office in Kampala, where Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja confirmed the arrangement.

According to the account published by Watchdog Uganda, SDA members will not be expected to take part in cleaning activities on Saturday, the day they observe as Sabbath. Instead, they are to carry out their National Cleaning Day duties on the last Sunday of each month. Nabbanja said the change is intended to respect worship while still keeping the church involved in the national sanitation exercise, with prayer and supervision by SDA leaders beginning after 10:00am.

Babalanda welcomed the decision as a sign of religious inclusion and freedom of worship. She also used the meeting to urge Resident District Commissioners and other local officials to mobilise communities, identify areas for cleaning, and ensure materials are available in advance. The National Cleaning Days programme was announced as a Cabinet-backed effort to improve sanitation, discipline, and environmental awareness, with local leaders and security agencies expected to help enforce participation.