Photo: Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP.
Christians in Uganda joined the rest of the world in condemning the death of George Floyd, an African-American man, and the actions of a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds as he pleaded for air.
Many churchgoers and leaders in the nation took to social media to reject police brutality, and the continuing discriminatory practices against black citizens of the United States, calling for justice for George Floyd.
Patrick “PT” Ngwolo, the lead pastor of Resurrection Houston, a missional church plant in the heart of Houston, Texas, is said to have been George Floyd’s beloved spiritual leader.
Pastor Ngwolo stated during an interview with press that his first encounter with Floyd was during an outreach in Texas.
The preacher was roaming through the streets promoting a coming concert featuring Christian rap artists Reconcile and Corey Paul Davis when he came face to face with Floyd.
From that day, their friendship grew into a partnership focused on relational ministry and community building.
Floyd was well-connected and well-respected in his home town, and he eagerly threw his labor into the Church initiative, volunteering to set up and tear down for ministry events at a local basketball court.
“We wanted to do aggressive, actual, life-on-life discipleship in this particular neighborhood,” Ngwolo told media. “He was like the OG of the neighborhood and made sure that we were welcomed in … in the Bible we call it a ‘person of peace.’ He helped us and allowed us to operate in his neighborhood.”
Floyd became a central figure of the Christian outreach program, Ngwolo said.
“He said, ‘I love what you’re doing. The neighborhood need it, the community need it, and if y’all about God’s business, then that’s my business,’” hip-hop artist Corey Paul Davis, a personal friend of Floyd told media reporters. “He said, ‘Whatever y’all need, wherever y’all need to go, tell ’em Floyd said y’all good. I got y’all.’”
At one of the Church ministry outreaches, in the summer of 2015, Floyd’s friend Nijalon Dunn was baptized.
“That experience, it was monumental,” Dunn told media reporters. “We talk about Big Floyd being OG, a person of peace, a gatekeeper. He empowered us. He was someone from the community who empowered brothers and sisters from outside to usher the gospel in. To be able to be baptized in a place like Cuney Homes, it was a sign of hope.”
According to Faith Wire, Floyd had a criminal history of his own and served a few stints behind bars for drug possession and armed robbery. But, the news source continues, he had turned his life around.
One friend shared, “The things that he would say to young men always referenced that God trumps street culture. I think he wanted to see young men put guns down and have Jesus instead on the streets.”
According to the Houston Chronicle, Floyd moved to Minneapolis in 2018 to leave behind his history in Houston for a new life — a fresh start — after having worked in ministry for nearly a decade in his hometown.
Floyd’s arrest on Monday was conducted after he allegedly attempted to use a $20 bill in a deli, which an employee identified as counterfeit. Police alleged that Floyd “physically resisted” after being ordered to exit his vehicle before the video was filmed.
Surveillance footage from a nearby restaurant, however, contradicts this claim, with Floyd shown falling twice while being escorted by the officers identified as Derek Chauvin, Thomas K. Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng .
Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on the road, repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe”, while Chauvin had his knee on his neck.
Floyd died later after the incident.
A medical examination found that Floyd had coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease.
Reports show that officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
George Floyd’s family said through their attorney on Friday that while Chauvin’s arrest is an “overdue step on the road to justice,” they demand he be charged with first-degree murder.
The three other officers have not been taken into custody, although Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said they are under investigation and he “anticipates charges.”
News Agencies contributed to this report.
