Mr. Robert Kalumba gave an excellent account of the scourge of cults which has gripped Uganda over the last two decades (see “Uganda now hit by an influx of cults”, Sunday Monitor, September 7, 2008). His article exposes the vulnerability of Ugandans to cultists, and the attendant government failure to safeguard its citizens.
The NRM regime soon after coming to power restored religious freedoms which past governments had constricted. Ugandans may recall that in the 1970s, President Amin banned all religious groupings apart from the mainstream three: Catholics, Anglican and Muslim. Even then, Anglicans and Catholics felt and were treated like second class citizens under Amin’s administration. In the early 1980s, Catholics and Muslims were marginalised by Anglicans following the defeat of Catholic-dominated DP by the Anglican-dominated UPC in the 1980 presidential election.
The 1995 Constitution guaranteed freedom to believe in, practice, and promote religion of one’s choice without interference, harassment, or other repercussions. Since the 1990s, religious demagogues preaching “the glory of God” have mushroomed, curving out new congregations from the Anglican, Catholic and Muslim denominations. But this growth draws less from the generosity of the 1995 constitution than it does from the increasing hopelessness of a people firmly gripped by suffering, poverty, ignorance and despair.
The word of God is a fountain of hope for the goodness of life here-after. To the dejected, it is the ultimate consolation; a motivation to walk through to the “promised land”. Uganda is a country where hope of a decent life for most citizens seems more like a dream that never will be. It is a country where HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases have traumatised millions; and hundreds of thousands of hungry women, children and the elderly sleep before dark because they can’t afford even the most primitive indoor lighting.
For such people, it is easy for religious demagogues to hide behind the message of hope, salvation and the glory of life here-after to advance an agenda whose real motive is not to secure their spiritual deliverance from sins, but to extort even the little they own – including their life through psychological blackmail!
On March 17, 2000, government was caught off-guard when an estimated 1000 religious cultists (including more than 100 children) were cremated alive at Kanungu by Rev/Fr. Joseph Kibwetere of the “Movement for Restoration of Ten Commandments of God.” For more than 20 years, he had openly preached about “the coming of the Virgin Mary to carry her people to heaven” at the turn of the new millennium. To prepare for the “journey to eternity”, he requested his followers to sell all their possessions and bring proceeds to the church.
Neither did government anticipate the birth of the Holy Spirit Movement founded on the teachings of ''prophetess'' Alice Lakwena with a mission to “restore Ugandans on the road to faith” The Holy Spirit Movement evolved into fully-fledged rebel movements whose followers launched suicide attacks in the belief that magic oils spread over their bodies would make them immune to government bullets.
Dosteo Bisaka’s cult---“Abaikiriza” (Faith of Unity and Oneness) is certainly a time-bomb that is bound to explode. But there are other unexploded cultist ordinances too which government is aware about. For instance “Prophet” Samuel Kakande of the Synagogue Church claims the ability to heal and devotes weekly meetings to “delivering people from their physical ailments”. Every Sunday, he dishes out this “holy water” with “miraculous powers” to distressed Ugandans seeking deliverance from their woes. The “prophet” allegedly draws his inspiration from another West African “prophet” John Obiri Yeboah.
With government knowledge, many local pastors have taken advantage of Malachi 3:10: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house” to extort property and money from their impoverished flock.
While government has always reiterated its commitment to protecting Ugandans from religious sharks, it has not done much. Yes, it quashed, the 19-year-old “prophetess” Mbasa Gwajwa who in November 1999, was claiming to have died in 1996
before being sent back to earth by God on a mission to preach repentance to
her people prior to the turn of the millennium. It has arrested some religious leaders on charges of sexual harassment, witchcraft, abduction and theft. But lack of comprehensive government regulation leaves Ugandans exposed to cultists.
