President Kagame closes 5000 churches , a lesson for Uganda

Mable Twegumye Zake - @MableTwegumye

Mable Twegumye Zake

Hello @DaltonKaweesa from your side of a coin; come to my side of the coin and bring with you for instance @MildredTuhaise @SamsonKasumba and of course I will call upon my mate @SolomonSerwanjj . Our agenda best known to ourselves, the five of us will start a fellowship, I will avail a venue.

May God forgive me for using this example to drive the point home but let's continue, so Samson Kasumba will be the pastor; he exudes good aura, great public speaking skills and knowledge of the bible after all he studied theology which many a pastor today don’t have as value addition but they have managed.

From a fellowship, I imagine in the long run start up a church of our own if we are strategic. We have certain influence already which is an advantage yet those that started unknown in “biwempe” set ups succeeded. Imagine this; our friends, relatives, media fraternity and all the big shots we have encountered over the years, our followers on social media would automatically jump in so the recruitment of the flock won’t be so hard. Our church will grow and trust me, within a short time we will collect enough and build a state of the art church, register it officially with the National Fellowship of Born Again Churches and the rest will be history.

But what will we be?

Thank God , we won’t be doing that but not everyone feels that way especially in a world where some people will go to any levels of making money or fulfilling their worse off motives and will take any short cuts available.

Some of you might think this is funny or extreme and my apologies to the true pastors and prophets but many talk like you, dress like you and act like you but are not you; making you all look bad and if nothing is done, you will all be a sinking ship.

To be able to recruit a following is a power that can be strategized through persuasion to a common cause and many have used existing beliefs taking advantage of the people's trust and weaknesses in disguise of being called or appointed by God.

Whether we like it or not foundations are important and with the exception of the main stream religions; Anglican, Catholic, Seventh Day Adventists and Islamic faith for which you can’t just wake up as an individual and announce yourself a Sheikh, Reverend or Priest without passing through the streamlined institutions.

Today one can be a pastor or prophet and coin their own story to whatever will suit the flock better. That is how dangerous it is to ignore a field so delicate yet it deals directly with the psychological being and emotions of human beings.

Christianity and Religion being faith-based on life, teachings and miracles of Jesus Christ have been manipulated for centuries by false pastors and prophets.

Yes, I know appointment to prophecy and pastoral duties only comes from God but this world isn’t the same as the days when Jesus walked this earth. This world has changed for which I also believe we can change for the betterment and protection of the human race from those who have failed to separate good from bad. Guarding the Gospel against fraudsters wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Pastors have been involved in child sacrifices, kidnappings, murders in addition to accusations amongst themselves of falsehood, witchcraft, occult, homosexuality among others.

It no wonder that Rwanda's President Paul Kagame closed 6000 churches for allegedly robbing their flock. What stood out in that report for me is that some of those churches he was quoted to say were linked to Ugandan pastors. President Kagame wants pastors to at least have a degree in theology before they start practicing and my apologies to those in disagreement but I would vote President Kagame on this if it will separate true men of God from fraudsters. If it so happens and God calls you to teach and spread the gospel, why would it be so bad for you to equip yourself even more?

Plus as a government whose mandate is to protect its citizens- call to action an investigation into some of these increased churches. Re-awaken the policy and legislation of born- again churches, register and have a grasp on their functioning process instead of giving criminals and fraudsters the leverage of defense through the human right of worship if it is being manipulated.

Borrowing from President Museveni’s statement of sorting out bean weevils from the beans; if it is possible to pull out the false ones from true pastors and prophets through a legislation or policy, then I pray to God that it is a really a good one and Government adopts it.

Dalton Kaweesa - @DaltonKaweesa

Dalton Kaweesa

Let me start with a caution. The erosion of one fundamental right , like the right to worship and religion may just be a precedent for the removal of all other rights. Meditate on this , thank me later.

Growing up, was many definitions a cheesy ride particularly the early years given the environment. This however taught me invaluable lessons, and an indelible rule of being streetwise. I learnt , from my mother, that even when my own parents profess to loving me, I should ask ‘Why’. I am sure to many it doesn’t make sense because the general rhetoric is that parents need to love their children. Asking why was the very foundation of developing my critical thinking on persons and the sociological construct in which we live, interrogating why the sun doesn’t come from the North but East and why ladies are born receivers not givers.

While away at some junky sauna in Kisasi , the issue of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda closing churches came up, it was heated. I can tell you many people supported the Rwandan ruler , saying Uganda needed to pick cue.

As usual I did more of the listening than the talking , I further opened my ears. And while at it, so many questions whirled in my mind; what is the genesis of this anger, what wrong has church done, do we have an alternative, has the leadership of church failed the faith of Uganda believers – many questions , few answers but anyway, good thing after all it was a monologue in my head.

The arguments put forward were the obvious - whose foundation and authenticity lies in speculation. We have all heard that talk in the sauna how Uganda is full of false prophets , how the gospel is fit for the poor blah blah.

In Niccole Machiavelle’s book ‘The Prince’ he posits why the church is a big deal in formation and maintain of authority in any country. He posits that that it is only church leaders who possesses the state.

I could be speaking French here, but let me break it down that , for all government out there , their preoccupation is to retain power at all cost.

But there is an elephant in the political room that thwarts their objective – the religion! While region enjoys unwavering and unquestionable following , the other side of the coin doesn’t. This is the conundrum that predates humanity that needs to be solved or doesn’t it? In simple terms govt assault on church is not being done in good faith of apparently protecting the poor from manipulation , it is done in order to divert total loyalty offered to God by people to the state. Discredit them , then they will look elsewhere for comfort and allegiance.

That’s why government or its agents have started mocking faithful’s claim of religious conscience. It must be known that governments especially with pseudo democracy, have started treating religion as obstacles to their agenda. When the archbishop of Kampala Dr. Cyprian Lwanga questions the constitutional amendment it is interpreted as an obstacle and interference from the church.

Religious freedom is one of the core principle upon which society operates and therefore every one should be alarmed by the attack on religion.

We have seen a crackdown in different contest, interfering with the election of a muslim mufti , interference in the works of House of Bishops which births an Archbishop, individual attack on religious people and also spying on them with a view of causing conflict. Is this done in good faith , your guess is as good as mine.

Higher Power: Obama’s War on religion, I book I happened to have scanned through while window shopping for books at one of the prominent bookstores, offers insight into the agenda of the capitalist world.

Machiavelli rightly puts it that the state needs religion only when it advances its agenda, short of that the state should be able to dismantle the fabric of religious and convert its faithfuls to the state rather than the former.

Interestingly the same author acknowledges that religion is a guiding principle which prevents one from doing or committing anything wrong, religion makes a person righteous which is required in a peace building society.

Let me end with a legendary story, one day a hare feeling so cold, and met a fox that had a blanket. The hare asked the fox just to allow its leg to be covered in order to share the warmth. Not so long the hare had both legs inside, then the front one , the head and whole body. With that the fox was pushed out of its own cover. This is what states are taking , taking away one by one. ‘

Ladies and gentlemen, if you celebrate govt taking away rights of religion masking it as protecting citizens from thieving churches , do not cry foul when all other rights are taken. My 20 cents!