On Friday, the Archbishop of the Catholic Kampala arch-diocese Dr. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga who is also the chairman for Uganda Joint Christian Council warned President Museveni that intelligence organs feed him on wrong information especially on the ill motives by religious leaders.
However, according to government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo, the allegations by Lwanga are unfounded.
“His criticism is not proven by what is happening in the country. Yes, there are isolated cases of criminality in the country which intelligence and police have failed to crack and what is motivating them but they are few,”Opondo told NBS television in an interview on Saturday.
The government mouthpiece says if the allegations by the man of God were true, the situation would be different from how it is now in terms of peace.
Speaking during Good Friday prayers at Old Kampala playgrounds, Archbishop Lwanga said that intelligence agencies have recruited some of the church priests, catechists and seminarians to spy on religious leaders but said these so called spies are feeding wrong information to their bosses.
“They are talking ill about myself, Archbishop Ntagali and other religious leaders. Government thinks religious leaders want to over throw it but this is the humble message I have for the president, you’re recruiting wrong people (for intelligence). They are character assassinating people by telling lies.”
He added, “Mr. President, we love you so much that’s why we keep electing you, but these people are giving you wrong information which is misleading you.”
However, Opondo laughed at the church for their acknowledgement of the presence of bad priests adding that if they can be present in church, the same can happen in government.
“How come that the church which is millennia old can have the bad clergy and thinks the Ugandan state that is only 56 years old can’t have some bad elements in it.”
“The so called bad clergy may be bad in the church but could be useful in as far as bringing information from the communities where they stay,”Opondo added.
In his New Year message last year, President Museveni referring to them as ‘’fake prophets’’ said many religious leaders speak most authoritatively on all and everything, even when they have not bothered to find out the truth.
‘‘Some of our religious people are so full of arrogance. They talk most authoritatively on all and everything even when they have not bothered to find out the truth. This is assuming they do not have evil intentions which would be worse. That would make them into the Kayaffas, the Chief Priest that betrayed Jesus. ‘’ he said.
