Former presidential aspirant Dr. Abed Bwanika is lead pastor at Christian Witness Church in Kampala.
I am a minister to the Almighty God. I have been a minister for a while. I want to remind the people of Uganda, the government, and those who are in authority that Uganda is a precious nation before God.
Uganda is called by God as a special nation, and this is reflected in the national anthem, emblem and motto. Our fore fathers declared: ‘For God and my country.’ They did not say ‘For gods and my country.’ They differentiated between the God who made the universe and other gods.
Since inception, Uganda believes in the God of Abraham. He is the creator of the Universe. We acknowledge that God is the head over this nation. When our fore fathers established the national anthem, they declared in the first stanza: ‘Oh Uganda! may God uphold thee.’ The God they are talking about is the Creator. He is the Almighty. He is the God who rules nations through men. I am telling you all this to remind you that our nation did not just appear. This nation is a design of God, and it is precious in His hands.
In 2012, we gathered at Kololo Independence grounds. Religious leaders from all denominations were represented. The president of the Republic of Uganda General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was in attendance. We made a covenant between us and the God who created the universe, saying He will be our God. But what is happening today is contrary to our declaration.
I recently heard the President making declarations about places of worship in this country. He did say that they will remain closed. What you declared Mr Museveni, the direction you took is wrong. You cannot allow people in ‘Kikuubo’ who are in thousands, without social distancing, resume work, and you deny people the opportunity to fellowship in their places of worship. You cannot allow people in buses, commuter taxis travel from upcountry, and you deny people the opportunity to fellowship in their places of worship. Fellowshipping and gathering in places of worship is a core value of what we believe. It is not something we do because we like. It is something we do because it is part of our faith.
You don’t have reasons good enough that are scientific to justify extended Church closures. I heard you say Churches are a high risk place. No! Mr President, ‘Kikuubo’ is a high risk place. Mr President, people who commute in buses from one region to another, those are the high risk places. People travelling in trucks across borders, those are the high risk places you should be concerned about.
Let me talk about the Churches that I know. In churches, ninety-nine percent of the people who attend a service we know where they come from. We know their homes, localities, and can even add on to get their phone numbers if we need to do that.
We can register every person who attends a service by name, phone number, and home location. So that we can improve the contact tracing if it is necessary. Churchgoers are controllable. They can wash their hands. We can use sanitizers and we can deploy infrared thermometers so that no body with high temperatures enters the place of worship. We can do social distancing in Churches and in mosques. It is possible. A church which has been accommodating 500 people, can accommodate 100 people. And we can have several services. We can decrease the time of each service, to accommodate this.
Mr President, for you to claim that places of worship present a high risk as regards COVID-19, that is not scientific. There is no scientific proof to what you are saying. You cannot use COVID-19 to deny us our inherent right. We must worship, we must fellowship, we must seek remedy from God. It is God who is going to help the country. Right now there is no medicine or vaccine for COVID-19. When we pray to God, things happen.
I want to call upon the president of the Republic of Uganda to revisit his decision, as far as places of worship are concerned.
We must work out the best way to reduce the risk, but allow people to worship God. This nation belongs to God. It is God who is the giver of life. It is God who keeps us and gives us peace. It is God we look up to.
I heard many people say, ‘pray for home.’ It is us who know that praying from home is different from praying in the Church. The church is the office of God. It is a gate of heaven. It is a place where God’s presence is, it cannot be continually closed. We have closed for three months. Mr President, you did not tell us if you are working out something in the next two weeks. You want us to wait for more months?
I am aware that in shrines, witch doctors are working in the darkness of the night. They are working in the day. No body has hindered them. Do you want to become an enemy of God who has shown us mercy in this country? I am asking you Mr President together with the COVID-19 task-force committee to revisit your decision on closing churches. Places of worship must be open. We can agree on guidelines regarding how to do it.
America has most of the cases globally, but people go to places of worship. Uganda is not the only country with COVID-19. We have less than a thousand cases. Majority of them, God has healed them. You cannot say our doctors have healed them, they don’t have the medicine. I trained in that area, so I know. It is God who has healed. However, you are denying us the opportunity to talk to Him in our places of worship. It is the same God who heals not only COVID-19, but other diseases. He is capable of healing our governance, and economy. We need the hand of God everywhere.
We do not deny your input together with your government and the COVID-19 task-force committee, or discredit what you have done. However, we don’t want you to take the wrong direction as far as relating to God is to this nation. Allow us to open places of worship. When we call upon our God, remedies and answers will come, not-only regarding COVID-19, but all the other issues that are challenging humanity in this generation.
