Pastor Sserwadda: 'Our call to reopen churches is not about money'

Pastor Joseph Serwadda, one of the prominent pentecostal leaders in Uganda, has said that it would be wrong for anyone to say that pastors want churches to reopen because of money.

Churches and other places of worship were among the first places to be closed by government as a measure to protect the country against the spread of the Coronavirus.

With over 110 days in lockdown, there have been several calls from religious leaders, parliamentarians and sections of the public to reopen churches.

Some members of the public have argued that churches should continue operating virtually and that pastors calling for their reopening are only doing so because they want money from believers.

While appearing on NBS TV's Morning Breeze, Pastor Sserwadda said that it is wrong to believe that pastors want the reopening to happen because of money.

He said: "It is not in that route. People who think for us think we want to reopen churches to make money but not everyone is interested in making money. We know religious institutions that have money and we know where they got it from."

Pastor Sserwadda said that all the businesses and places that have been reopened have had advocates in the cabinet and there is nothing wrong with pastors advocating for their ministries.

"What I am I doing on the Inter-Religious Council if I can't speak up? You want me to just keep quiet?," Pastor Sserwadda asked.

Pastor Sserwadda said that President Museveni asked them to close places of worship in March this year because the virus was new and the country had no idea of how to combat it. Now, he said, they have found ways of living with it.