Robert Kayanja addresses false rumours about COVID-19 in hopes of curbing its spread in Uganda.
Well-known Pastor Robert Kayanja of Miracle Centre Cathedral – Rubaga has dispelled some of the misinformation spread online about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), urging that the pandemic is not a hoax thus Ugandans must avoid becoming complacent.
Addressing hundreds of born-again Church leaders on the coronavirus response, the Channel 44 TV founder said “we need to be very vigilant.”
“I have heard Ugandans say, “coronavirus is not there. Have you seen anybody who had died from it?” You want to know someone dying of Coronavirus? Be reckless,” he said.
Pastor Kayanja said that Church leaders and other relevant authorities should avoid being rebellious and put in place systems that can detect “the enemy immediately before communities are devastated,” he explained.
“What we are told to do is very simple,” he said, before listing various Ministry of Health guidelines for prevention of Covid-19 in public places including social distancing, washing hands, sanitizing and others.
“This has nothing to do with lack of faith,” he continued.
“Our churches have never been closed, but are under lockdown because of the dangers that we are faced with. It is very important for us to know the difference between closing churches and locking churches. When you lock, you do so for a period and then unlock. But to close, is to shutdown forever,” he said.
Pastor Kayanja believes Covid-19 – like several other plagues witnessed and recorded in history – “is after church revival”.
He said he has lost over 30 pastors globally to the pandemic.
Citing Matthew 2:13–23 in which God instructed Joseph to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt to escape King Herod’s wrath, Pastor Kayanja urged Pastors to make intentional decisions. He also quoted Isaiah 26:20.
It reads:
“Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past.”
“Most times, God hides you in a given place to rescue you,” Pastor Kayanja said.
“I believe God is going to deliver the world from COVID-19 because of your anointing and prayer,” he told pastors.
“I know God has been speaking to us as pastors during this time in the absence of the flock. There is a lot God has shared with you regarding ministry, and what you should do after the lockdown.”
It should be noted that Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni raised the stakes on chances of another lockdown following rapidly increasing cases and deaths from Covid-19 in Kampala and across the country.
Last Thursday, he warned that citizens are joking with the deadly viral disease, and that they are not helping the country’s scientists curb the virus spread. All places of worship in Uganda are still closed; 5 months now.
Doctor Ronald M. Ochetre who spoke during the Pastoral meeting at Miracle Centre Cathedral on behalf of the Ministry of Health urged attendees to “be our ambassadors to carry on the message to the congregation.”
“As the Ministry of Health, we have a very deliberate plan to engage as many stake holders as possible in this fight against COVID-19. There is one peculiar thing you have as religious leaders, that is probably a big asset which you may not know. You do not invite people to come to places of worship, they come willingly. And when they come, they listen attentively. They don’t make noise, they don’t ask questions, they go back satisfied after listening to what you have said. That is a very big asset,” Doctor Ronald M. Ochetre said.
“We think that you play a very crucial role as partners to us,” he told the Pastors.
