Uganda is likely to host a third pontiff in modern times in the near future, probably next year. The matter was discussed at the highest level last month between President Yoweri Museveni and Pope Francis, and we have now been asked to pray that the visit materialises.

The first modern pope to visit Africa was the recently beatified Paul VI, who came to Uganda in 1969 to honour the Uganda Martyrs who had been canonised five years earlier.

The 22 Catholic martyrs were burnt to death in 1885-86 at Namugongo near Kampala, probably giving the church its richest harvest of saints in one incident.

Then Pope John Paul II visited in 1993 and while at Namugongo, he poetically described the killing site as the spot where Christ’s great light — the killer wood fire — had shone on Africa and prayed that it would continue to illuminate the continent.

And now Namugongo is on the verge of hosting the third pontiff, if all goes as planned. The visit should actually have taken place this year to mark the Golden Jubilee of the martyrs’ canonisation, but when it didn’t, the Jubilee celebrations were postponed until the pope is able to accept the invitation. In the meantime, African pilgrims continue to flock to Namugongo every June 3 to mark Martyrs’ Day.

When you consider the many opportunities Uganda has lost to spur its economic development, these papal visits have the potential to present yet another chance to this impoverished country.

We are a country that is fond of proclaiming its great tourism potential but does very little to develop it.

We continue droning on about having the source of the world’s longest river, the oldest tree species, the largest concentration of bird species, and a host of other attractions that are available 12 months a year; then we steal the money meant to build roads to make the attractions accessible, we run down national airlines and ban other local carriers, we allow heavily polluting industrial activities near national parks — anything you can think of that destroys tourism.

When the world’s most visible personalities dutifully want to visit your small country, it is an opportunity that should not be missed. Namugongo can become the Christian Mecca of Africa.

For now it is still the poorer, low-spending Africans who come to Namugongo. But the many millions of dollars Mecca attracts through hosting 15 million faithful a year should set us thinking hard! The wealthier Christians should be attracted to Namugongo by riding on the free publicity that the Pope brings.

And even each of the poor Africans who visit Namugongo could be required to light a candle and keep “Christ’s light shining on Africa” at a price of a few dollars.

Ugandans like talking about their natural wealth. They will tell you about the rich agricultural lands and a climate that naturally allows two or three harvests a year. But most of the milk in their shops is imported from Europe and 99 per cent of their apples are imported from South Africa.

The chicken in fashionable restaurants is also imported. We talk about one of the oldest medical schools on the continent even as we continue sending all government-connected patients to Nairobi to treat their (mostly lifestyle-related) ailments. And here I am talking about Namugongo’s potential!

Joachim Buwembo is a Knight International Fellow for development journalism. E-mail: [email protected]