Photo: Courtesy/MPL
A tense incident erupted Thursday in Namugongo, a township in the central business district Kampala, after a born-again street evangelist set out to preach the gospel of salvation close to the Uganda Martyrs Catholic Shrine.
The preacher, a lady in her twenties or thirties, was confronted by a pair of Catholic faithful who were offended by her ministration at the premises.
“Go away from here,” the Catholic pair told the preacher, before one angrily called her a “prostitute” and the other “satan.”
In a video posted by popular broadcaster NTV Uganda, and viewed over 50,000 times, by press time, the preacher seemed unbothered by the what a cross section of believers have since described as an “assault.”
She went on preaching, describing God as a “supreme ruler overall”, adding that her authority to evangelize does not come from government or natural man.
“The earth and its fullness belong to God. Uganda belongs to God, and not man. He is high above,and He gave us the power and authority and protection. Thank you Jesus,” she stated calmly.
“I chase you in the name of the father, and son and the Holy Spirit. You have no authority over us. Go away Satan, we are children of God,” one of the Catholic faithful said, before she moved closer and aimed her wooden cross towards the born-again preacher. “This is a synagogue of the Catholics, in Namugongo.”
“Jesus saves. He gave us the power and authority. The blood of Jesus is more powerful than any other blood,” the preacher went on proclaiming the Word, with little regard of the physical and verbal assault from the Catholic faithful.
The incident has also attracted comments on social media from around the country, with some saying it was another example of infringement on freedom of speech and others urging she should have preached from else where.
Responses from Christians online:
“She has done what she was supposed to do. People are lost to the extent of fighting the gospel. Jesus came to set people free,young lady you are blessed. Let us go to the whole world and preach the gospel, for Jesus is coming soon. What has happened to you happened to our Lord Jesus. Jesus could enter their synagogues to preach the truth but they determined to crucify Him. May God continue using you young Lady,” remarked Martha Afaayo Namono
“It’s a free world, but the young preacher must know that we Catholics live by the scriptures and tradition, by tradition I mean we practice what our forefathers in the church taught us or the life they lived yet the balokole are against tradition. The young woman is free to preach from anywhere near the premises of the Catholic shrine but trust me anytime she’s going to be controversial about tradition (like honouring saints which the ‘balokole’ preach against). I don’t support the act of chasing her away either but it should be her last, let people practice their religion in peace” wrote Sentume Gonzaga.
“If God is love then its easy to tell which of the two has the Spirit of God. How do you find an adult preaching on the street and you confront her to the point of pushing her head! The calmness of the poor girl under such provocation should tell us that she knows her God and therefore should be listened to,” said Nathan Kaija.
“This aggressive woman should be charged with assault. I really wonder how some people reason, the lady preaching is in her space on the road side. I really commend her humility despite the aggregation from an elder woman. We shall know them by their fruits,” said Deo Mugwedi.
“I like the Spirit of boldness and self control in this lady preacher. I thought she is preaching Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, then how she be mentioned as devil by this catholic woman. One thing I know is that JESUS CHRIST is the Way, the Truth and Life, No one cometh to the Father except by JESUS CHRIST. (JOHN 14:6). And therefore no one should fight for a denomination whether Born again or Catholic. Let them all preach JESUS CHRIST as the Way, Truth and Life,” observed Patrick Tumuhimbise.
“Jesus didn’t just stop at the road, he entered their synagogues and preached to them. This has nothing to do with respecting one another otherwise we would tell moslems not to make noise for us in the morning. Just let the lady preach and go to your shrine,” noted Kanyesigye Walter.
“When Jesus was in the temple preaching, another group stood outside preaching , some people who felt offended came in and told him that some people are outside making noise that they are preaching.Jesus asked them,” in whose name are they preaching?they answered,”in your name, (Jesus Christ.)Jesus Christ told them that”those are part of us”. So why are people offended by her preaching on the roadside?,” said Brave brown.
Another social media user said: “The elder lady is calling the other satan, and casting her in the name of Jesus, to a point of pushing the girl’s head… Still this is Jesus telling her to do this? Let’s respect our Lord JESUS.”
