Govt to start verifying Pentecostal 'miracles' - Museveni
The government will start validating religious miracles to ensure public safety and maintain legal and ethical standards, President Yoweri Museveni has said.
Speaking at the commissioning of prophet Samuel Kakande’s Temple Mount Church of All Nations at Mulago, Kampala, Museveni said that while the government must respect religious freedom; they also need to protect public health, prevent exploitation, and ensure justice. He gave an example of a certain man he watched on television who claimed that his mother, who was diagnosed with cancer, got healed just by believing in God, 43 years later after the doctors concluded that there was no cure.
“Those stories are there. Now in your case, if you heal, the government is a quality controller. When there are industrial products, there’s an organ called the Uganda National Bureau of Standards. For healing, there are professional health bodies that must be involved. This means we must get those people-the ones you say were healed; we must check. If he comes, let's first get proof that he is sick. Don’t heal him immediately. Let’s take the biochemistry, the blood, and other checks so that we know that he is sick, and then you cure him. Thereafter, we will praise you for the miracle. So, we’re now going to take interest, especially if you get money out of it,” Museveni stated.
He further gave an example of the 'holy water' at Namugongo, which people usually drink, saying that it's healing water. The same in Busoga at Bishop Hannington Centre, where people pick water from the swamp. All these water sources, according to the president, have since been verified.
“Fine, if it is free water, you take it. If you’re healed, there’s no problem. But if you’re selling the water, that’s a business now. We are going to study that water. So, I think you have called me a consultant. The only interest of the government would be that it's not dangerous or harmful to the people. But if you sell, then we don’t only check for no harm to people but for the quality of healing,” the president further added.
He warned that, whereas auditing religions is not the work of the government, religious groups must be careful not to break the law. This danger, Museveni observed, stems from a section of religious leaders who discourage people from seeking medical attention when they get sick. He gave an example of the late Omukama Ruhanga Owobusobozi Bisaka, who told somebody not to go to the hospital and that he (Bisaka) would cure him, and later the person died.
“We had to be in trouble with Bisaka. We had to charge him. So, that would be another danger. If you say don’t go to the hospital, I will cure you, and then somebody dies or the condition gets worse, that would be another problem. Now that you have invited me. I will direct the professional bodies of health or healing to work with you and check,” Museveni said.
About respecting freedom of worship, the president reiterated the battle he won that involved the call by some traditional churches to ban the Balokole accusing them of being liars, purporting to be performing miracles.
“I said that if they are liars, God will deal with them,” Museveni said while borrowing an example from the Bible where Jesus refused to stop people who pretended to be casting out demons like him.
"Jesus said no. If they are not against us, they’re with us. This is what I told the old religions, and that’s how I left these Pentecostal churches and pastors like Kakande and Kayanja,” the president said, adding that by the 1960s the freedom of worship was a complex matter perpetrated by politics of sectarianism based on religion and tribe, and this had affected the broader national unity, wealth and development
“We rejected all that. For us, we didn’t mind which religion or tribe you belong to or race, and when we came into the government, we made this very clear that it’s not the job of the government to audit which religion is right or wrong. That’s God’s work, not the government. If you’re telling lies, God will deal with you,” said Museveni.
The president observed while emphasizing that as a political leader, his job begins when a child forms to ensure that things are alright when the mother goes for antenatal to check the baby in the womb until she gives birth, providing paediatric health care, and ensure the child gets education and immunization for proper growth until the child finishes school and wants to create jobs. And when he becomes mature or elderly, it is still the government’s job to look after the elderly.
“When you die, we have to ensure that your grave is not disturbed, but beyond that, where you go, that’s not my job. That's where I stop, and I leave the rest to God to judge,” Museveni said.
On his part, pastor Kakande hailed Museveni for sticking to his vision of maintaining peace and security such that people can enjoy their freedoms, including freedom of worship.
“In your vision, you took time to imagine what a Ugandan should look like and how he should live. And since we were all created by God, you said that every Ugandan should have freedom of worship. So, we are the people who have benefited from the fruits of peace as the beneficiaries of the freedom of worship,” Kakande said, adding that the freedom of worship has led to the promotion of religious tourism.
He noted that every week the church receives between 800 to 1000 people from countries such as Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, DRC, Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, among others.
“If it was not for the peace and freedom of worship, these people from outside countries would not have come to Uganda. Much as we’re jubilant about peace, we must thank that person whom God used to bring this vision and keep it up to today,” Kakande added.
“Despite what they say, what happens here is salvation, active healing, deliverances, and all of God’s blessings,” he added.
Constructed in 2020, the Temple Mount Church of All Nations which can accommodate up to 3000 worshippers also has restaurants and a shopping centre.
