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Uganda: Sex Slavery in Church

The Monitor (Kampala)

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The Monitor (Kampala)

28 July 2007
Posted to the web 28 July 2007

Frank Nyakairu
Kampala

At least 300 believers have so far come up to accuse born-again pastors of various crimes including extortion, sex slavery, fraud and manipulation. The growing list of the victims is being compiled by Pastor Solomon Male and lawyer John Kaggwa who are also recording their testimonies with a view to take the errant pastors to court.

"I have so far received more than 300 complaints and lawyer John Kaggwa and I are opening cases to bring these 'big men and women of God' to justice," said Pastor Male who runs a Christian counselling organisation Arising for Christ. He said many pastors even have military escorts whom they use for protection and intimidation.

"Most of the pastors in town are high level crooks in one way or another. They enjoy army protection, they are highly connected and can kill to cover up their sins," Pastor Male told Sunday Monitor in an interview on Friday.

The Pentecostal church movement in Uganda has been thrown into confusion following several complaints and testimonies of people who say they have been conned and asexually abused by their pastors in their respective born-again churches in and around the city. The matters have been made worse after reports that pastors use "electric machines" to shock their believers and fake miracles.

"The victims are usually scared of coming out. These people have military protection, they hold diplomatic passports and of course have what it takes to get anything done,' Pastor Male said.

However the UPDF on Friday issued a strong warning to whoever is providing army escorts to pastors.

"We have never officially offered any escorts to these pastors. Whoever is doing it is doing so on individual basis and we are saying that it should stop immediately," Amy and Defence spokesman Major Felix Kulayigye said.

Some of the 300 victims who have given their testimonies to Pastor Male include a girl who was defiled by a pastor and says a similar fate befell many other girls.

Sex slavery

A 23-year-girl whose initials are A.K, accused one Pastor in Mengo (names withheld) of sexually exploiting and intentionally starving unemployed young girls.

"He convinced our parents that he was going to get us employment and he kept us in a hostel in Mengo. He did not give us food but he would come, pick one of us, take her in a nice restaurant after that he would demand sex. When I refused he beat me up badly," the girl narrated in tears.

Mr David Nsubuga of Bombo accuses his pastor and another church official (both names withheld) of taking his Pick Up truck by false pretence. "They told me that if I offered them my Pick Up Reg. No. 209 UAN, I would get blessed six times and in six months with a Pajero. It's now seven years and my car is nowhere to be seen. When I first came to explain my problem to Pastor Male, the pastor who took my Pick Up (names withheld) coerced me in retracting my story, but I could not continue being tossed around like that," Mr Nsubuga said in a statement dated July 11.

Soon after, Pastor Male picks up Nsubuga's story, a UPDF lieutenant in military uniform came to his office and "tried to intimidate me into leaving that case, but we are not shaken." A former interpreter of a pastor accuses the "Man of God" of impregnating more than 10 young girls in his church in Kawala.

Pregnant girls

"He exploits girls who are desperate. He calls them for special prayers in his bedroom and forces them into sex. I have interpreted for him for years but two weeks ago when I attempted to expose him, I was jailed and tortured for several days at Old Kampala Police Station," says Mr Richard Mubiru.

He showed Sunday Monitor wounds and bruises which he claimed were inflicted on him during his detention. He was released after Pastor Male intervened.
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Mr Robert Bukenya, a pump attendant in Mulago, accused another pastor of a church in the area (names withheld) of extorting Shs510,000 from him on a false promise that he would take him to the United States in 2005.

"The pastor told me he would take me to the US specifically Texas to work. So he asked me for Shs2 million. But I had to give him Shs510,000 first, for the visa and bank statement. After giving him the money he disappeared for several months," Mr Bukenya said.

"When I met him finally I asked him about the travel, but he told me that hurricane Katrina had covered Texas in water so planes could not land. I asked him to refund my money, but he said he had already spent it."