Pastor Joseph Serwadda attached for supporting Policy to regulate Born Again churches in Uganda

The raging debate on the faith policy as proposed by Fr Simon Lokodo, the minister of Ethics and Integrity, is a contentious topic. The Constitution has spelt out our God-given liberties and rights.

The challenge to all leaders is how to lead and not infringe on these right. The freedom to worship should not be defined by laws and legal embroideries. Let freedom be free!

From Dr Joseph Serwadda’s article in New Vision on June 19, 2017 titled Why legislation on Born Again churches is necessary, he based his argument on seven major reasons:

- The problem of not being recognized by the law of the land as a religion.
- The failure of government to categorize and attach indigenous churches to the right ministry.
- The challenge of mixed identity, whereby clear universal cults, indigenous cults and occults are registered by government and given a semblance of Pentecostal churches.

- The need to regulate the people registering churches and modulate the practices of already registered churches.
- The registration of religious/spiritual entities separate from charities.
- Guarantee for perpetuity of churches as places of worship.
- Equality of born-again churches to the traditional churches.

With those fronted as the reasons to have legislation on born-again churches, I picture a thirsty man opening floodgates to scoop a cup of water, only to be washed away by floods.

There is no manner of organization or law that will regulate faiths and their practices without it becoming discriminative and oppressive. A thirsty man needs water, but not a Tsunami.

Looking briefly at the presented challenges, I would like to shed light on each.

1. The failure of government to place the indigenous Pentecostal churches under the most appropriate political ministry. This predicament lingers on and our registration proposals are often addressed whenever there is electioneering.

Promises are made by the leader in power but nothing concrete comes out. There was a time we were attached to the ministry of Justice, where it was most appropriate to register a church as a company limited by guarantee.

Then, through unwavering lobbying, we were pushed to the ministry of Internal Affairs, where we were registered as NGOs. The next thing we were told to choose either: With the NGO board, we were required to renew our permits periodically. Some of us feel that after 30 years of NRM leadership, this should have been sorted by now.

Is it deliberate that government would like to keep us begging till the next elections? The key question is how will the registration question be settled without creating a monstrous vetting committee of religious people with personal biases?

This move is obviously asking for a ministry of religion and a religious authority which will be charged with the responsibility to approve, vet, assess, police, punish, terminate as well as regulate worship experiences. Apart from Islamic nations, there are just a few nations that have the ministry of religion. Is Uganda going to create a state religion in a secular Constitution?

2. It should not be our objective to achieve equality with the traditional religions since the status being enjoyed by traditional religions was not given to them by the stroke of the pen, but by many historical postures. Some are ugly, unfair and mostly colonially pushed with internal patronage of the leaders of our nation. The best way to be recognized is to do the will of the God that sent us.

3. Permanence and perpetuity will not depend on the legislation because experience has taught us that laws are never free from tinkering fingers of politicians. The law you formulate today will be mutated as many times as politicians choose to change it. Whatever we shall commit to paper as religious policy will be beyond recognition five years from the day it is adopted.

4. No religious ministry will be secure since the law is proposing to regulate, qualify, deny and permit people to register.

In conclusion, whether the law is beautiful and acceptable today, I resist it because of what it is going to become and the resultant subculture, patterns and allegiances it will force us into in order to fit under it and to serve the political powers that will be existing. Good intentions can become bad mistakes.

Fr Lokodo should not pretend to be drafting legislation on faith-based organisations. There are enough rules and laws for him to curb criminal excesses in churches but he doesn’t have the will to enforce the laws.

We are not buying this lie and we shall resist it.