Sserulanda Spiritual Leader Mugonza Dead
12 Jul 2017, 15:22
In short
Gertrude Njuba, one of the Directors of Kagera Eco Cities limited, one of the firms behind the proposed establishment of the Lake Victoria Multibillion Free Trade Zone in Rakai has confirmed Mugonzas death. Njuba told URN in a telephone interview that Mugonza has been ill for some time.
Gertrude Njuba, one of the Directors of Kagera Eco Cities limited, one of the firms behind the proposed establishment of the Lake Victoria Multibillion Free Trade Zone in Rakai has confirmed Mugonzas death. Njuba told URN in a telephone interview that Mugonza has been ill for some time.
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Bambi Baaba Baabuwee Mugonza, the controversial leader of Sserulanda Spiritual Foundation is dead.
The 80-year-old Mugonza died on Tuesday evening in his cave in Ssesamirembe in Kabila Sub County in Kyotera district.
Gertrude Njuba, one of the Directors of Kagera Eco Cities Limited, one of the firms behind the proposed establishment of the Lake Victoria Multi-billion Free Trade Zone in Rakai, has confirmed Mugonza's death. Njuba told URN in a telephone interview that Mugonza has been ill for some time.
She declined to divulge details about the illness, saying they were meeting to discuss the burial arrangements. Vincent Ssemakula, the former Rakai District Chairman and close friend to Mugonza also confirmed the death. "Yes it is true. I got information that Mugonza is dead. But I have no idea where he died from," said Ssemakula.
Information obtained by URN shows that mourners have started gathering in Ssesamirembe for a vigil. Noah Mutanda, one of the followers of Sserulanda Spiritual Foundation, says there is restricted access to the area where their spiritual died from.
The 80-year-old Mugonza died on Tuesday evening in his cave in Ssesamirembe in Kabila Sub County in Kyotera district.
Gertrude Njuba, one of the Directors of Kagera Eco Cities Limited, one of the firms behind the proposed establishment of the Lake Victoria Multi-billion Free Trade Zone in Rakai, has confirmed Mugonza's death. Njuba told URN in a telephone interview that Mugonza has been ill for some time.
She declined to divulge details about the illness, saying they were meeting to discuss the burial arrangements. Vincent Ssemakula, the former Rakai District Chairman and close friend to Mugonza also confirmed the death. "Yes it is true. I got information that Mugonza is dead. But I have no idea where he died from," said Ssemakula.
Information obtained by URN shows that mourners have started gathering in Ssesamirembe for a vigil. Noah Mutanda, one of the followers of Sserulanda Spiritual Foundation, says there is restricted access to the area where their spiritual died from.
Who is Bambi Baaba Baabuwee Mugonza?
Mugonza is the founder of Sserulanda spiritual foundation with an estimated following of more than 20,000 believers around the World. His followers include Ugandans, Chinese, Americans, Rwandans, and Kenyans among others. In 2000, Mugonza partnered with the Chinese Government to start the Multi-billion Lake Victoria Free Trade Zone.
| Edward Bindhe Bambi Baaba Babuwee, the Sserulanda Spiritual leader who died. In pic he was hosting Rebecca Kadaga speaker of Parliament at his shrine in Kabila. File photo |
He had reportedly secured a grant of US $850million from China to implement the project. According to memorandum, the Lake Victoria Free Trade Zone was expected to cover Kabila, Kukuuto and Kasasa Sub counties.
However, the project suffered a setback when it was blocked by the Ugandan government. Government also blocked the funding from China citing controversies surrounding Sserulanda Spiritual Movement.
Government later instituted a Commission of Inquiry led by Prof Nelson Ssewankambo to investigate the practices of Sserulanda Spiritual Movement. The investigations were prompted by claims that the foundation preserves dead bodies and that it had established parallel administrative structures on its 200 square miles of land.
There were also claims that the foundation had also enacted its own ordinances and by-laws. Although the details of the investigations were not made public, it later emerged that the Commission found that the group was involved in strange practices such as preserving dead bodies, forcing all believers to drop their original names and become vegetarians.
However, the project suffered a setback when it was blocked by the Ugandan government. Government also blocked the funding from China citing controversies surrounding Sserulanda Spiritual Movement.
Government later instituted a Commission of Inquiry led by Prof Nelson Ssewankambo to investigate the practices of Sserulanda Spiritual Movement. The investigations were prompted by claims that the foundation preserves dead bodies and that it had established parallel administrative structures on its 200 square miles of land.
There were also claims that the foundation had also enacted its own ordinances and by-laws. Although the details of the investigations were not made public, it later emerged that the Commission found that the group was involved in strange practices such as preserving dead bodies, forcing all believers to drop their original names and become vegetarians.
Body of Serulanda Spiritual Foundation leader to be kept in glass coffin
Friday July 14 2017
KYOTERA- The body of fallen Joseph Mugonza , the founder of Serulanda Spiritual Foundation in Ssesamirembe, Rakai District will be embalmed and kept in a glass coffin where followers and visitors will be able to view it in future.
According to Dr Bhuka Bijumiro-jumiro, the secretary general of the foundation, Mugonza who died early this week was a “living holy creature” who cannot be buried like ordinary people.
“We shall not give him the usual burial. His body will be embalmed and the process has started. The body will be put in a glass coffin which will be taken to our mausoleum where embalmed bodies are kept to rest,” Dr Bijumiro-jumiro said on Friday.
The mausoleum where embalmed bodies are kept
The house where embalmed bodies are kept is called “Baloola” translated as meditating room. Currently, the mausoleum holds over five bodies, according to Dr Bijumiro-jumiro.
“Our superiors don’t die. They are laid in that room to take a moment of meditation,” he said.
He said experts in embalming bodies including anatomists, biochemists and surgeons, who are also members of the spiritual foundation, are likely to spend one month preserving the body.
“We want Mugonza’s body to maintain its physical form—shape, weight, colour, limb flexibility and suppleness,” Dr Bijumiro-jumiro said. “We are going to employ modern embalming techniques to ensure that His holiness Mugonza is recognizable as he was in life many years to come,” he said.
Joseph Mugonza, 80, locally known as Bambi baaba babuwe (his imperishable glory ), died on Tuesday at his home in Kachanga Village, Kabira Sub-county, Kyotera District, following a long illness It is not clear what led to his death but followers point to old age .He is survived by several women and over 14 children, according Dr Bijumiro-jumiro.
He wielded immense divine power over his followers, who regarded him as a demigod who performed various miracles.
“He was born a saint who started performing miracles at the age of three and received a revelation of starting his ministry in caves aged 12. Although God did not show him where they were located, he found them in 1975,” Dr Dr Bijumiro-jumiro said.
His followers believe that Mugonza also got a vision when he was three years old to build a city and eradicate poverty in the area.
Mugonza’s followers, estimated to be over 1,000 are spread in different countries including the US. They are forbidden from eating meat or any animal product. They do not drink alcohol.
While worshipping, they combine Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and traditional Bachwezi practices.
According Dr Bijumiro-jumiro, Mugonza will soon be replaced with another leader who would hold the title of “The living saint or the living master saint”, and will be picked from devotees the deceased trained to a level of ‘saints’.
Mugonza rose to prominence in 2006, when one of his companies Kagera Eco-Cities signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government to establish a multi –billion shillings Free Trade Zone at Sesamirembe Village (genesis of peace) on the shores of Lake Victoria, in the newly- created Kyotera District .
However, in February 2009, Rakai District Council, refused to give out a 200 square-mile piece of land to Mugonza until a clear report about the operations of the foundation was released .This came after suspicion that the foundation was a religious cult.
Dr Bhuka Bijumiro-jumiro
Key projects which were expected to be constructed in the Free Trade Zone included among others; an airport, hotels, international schools, business centres, pharmaceutical industries, shopping malls and cultural villages.
The foundation has been operating Serulanda Nsuloyabulamu Hospital, Astro Steel Constructing Company among other businesses.
Dr Bijumiro-jumiro said they would implement all the projects Mugoza left in the pipeline .
His biography
Mugonza was born at Kyanamukaaka in Masaka District. His father died but his mother, Falazia Nakanwagi, aged 97, is still alive.
He dropped out of school in Primary Two at Kabuwoko Primary School. He taught himself how to read and speak English. He ventured into businesses like selling office glue and making herbal medicine before establishing Astro Steel Construction Company.
He has authored various books about his spiritual movement including “Ekkula kalaame” among others.
Added 10th October 2008 03:00 AM
A RELIGIOUS sect that preserves dead bodies is seeking to build a multi-million dollar autonomous city in Rakai district. The Sserulanda Spiritual Foundation hopes to turn 200 square miles adjacent to Lake Victoria into a free trade zone, dubbed Ssessamirembe Spiritual City.
Religious sect stores dead bodies
By Vision ReporterAdded 10th October 2008 03:00 AM
A RELIGIOUS sect that preserves dead bodies is seeking to build a multi-million dollar autonomous city in Rakai district. The Sserulanda Spiritual Foundation hopes to turn 200 square miles adjacent to Lake Victoria into a free trade zone, dubbed Ssessamirembe Spiritual City.
By Carol Natukunda
A RELIGIOUS sect that preserves dead bodies is seeking to build a multi-million dollar autonomous city in Rakai district.
The Sserulanda Spiritual Foundation hopes to turn 200 square miles adjacent to Lake Victoria into a free trade zone, dubbed Ssessamirembe Spiritual City.
The area covers the sub-counties of Kabira, Kakuuto and parts of Kooki.
The group, suspected to be a cult, allows its members to choose whether to be buried or have their bodies preserved and kept in a common room, when they die.
On Wednesday, Saturday Vision saw three of the former members’ bodies in a secluded permanent house in Kabira village, about 20 minutes’ drive off the Masaka-Rakai highway.
While two of the bodies lay in coffins, another – belonging to a woman - was on a cradle neatly covered with white linen. Beside the bodies were lit candles. An elderly woman clad in gloves and a lesu was treating the bodies. The members strictly prohibit visitors from taking pictures inside the room.
“We can even preserve your smile if you asked to have it preserved,†a member told this reporter.
Saturday Vision also saw three grave yards, implying that the majority of the group’s members are buried. Some graves were bigger than others.
“Each grave is given a different value, depending on whether the person was an initiate (has spiritual power),†explains the group’s general administrator, Sseewabwewi Kyalisiima.
Contrary to common practice where graves are dug, here they are built up to waist level so that the body lies at ground level. This is allegedly to imitate the legendary Egyptian Pyramids.
Sserulanda’s members include high-profile personalities such as Gertrude Njuba, a presidential advisor on land matters. It is headed by His Imperishable Glory Ssaabayimiransibo Bambi Baaba Baabuwe, a Ugandan who has been living in the US for the last 15 years.
God in human form
Baaba is said to wield immense power over his followers, who consider him as a “god in human form.†He is said to have got a vision as early as three years of age to build a city and eradicate poverty. His real name was Jozzewafe Mugonza, and he grew up as a herbalist, diviner and healer, operating in Kyotera and Kalisizo in Rakai district. He reportedly later linked up with some Indian businessmen in Kyotera who sponsored him to travel to India in 1969. There he went through what his followers call the “12 stages of initiation†and became a “disciple of a divine living Master of Ancient Wisdomâ€. By the late 1970’s, he reportedly started buying land from individual households in Rakai, until he was able to secure a vast expanse of land.
When visiting the place, Saturday Vision found a huge plot which has shrubs and scattered shacks. A dusty murram road winds its way through the grass and anthills to a huge shrine, curved out of a rock. The man-made cave has a purple curtain hanging at the entrance. No one enters with shoes. Inside, a fire place is surrounded by dry grass that is carefully spread out for visitors to sit on. The fire burns day and night. In one corner is a portrait of the spiritual leader, Baaba.
Members are strictly forbidden from eating meat or any animal product, and drinking alcohol. This is allegedly in line with the teachings of Baaba, who combines Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and traditional Bachwezi practices in his religion.
Other practices include common ownership of some assets for the “common good†like land, kitchen, cattle kraal, reference library and burial grounds. Though members are allowed to own some personal private property like houses, cars, radios or television sets, they are all required to contribute to the common good.
Anyone who fails to contribute, risks having their membership cancelled or be denied access to communally owned resources.
The group has a charter which specifies how they will govern themselves in the autonomous city, according to information posted on their website www.sseesamirembe.com. They will have powers to enact their own laws, ordinances, by-laws and procedures, as well as provide and maintain a security force for the protection of the inhabitants of the city. Their judicial system will be led by a “High Chancellor†and only permanent residents of the zone will be eligible to hold the office of a “Governing Chancellorâ€. They will provide their own social services and infrastructure, independent of the central Government.
Key projects already planned by the group include an international airport, an airport city, hotels, international schools, shopping malls, business centres and cultural villages. It is planned to accommodate about 500,000 people.
Chinese investor
To build the city, the group plans to strike agreements with investors. Already, they have signed a deal with a Chinese company, Paradise International Investment, to invest $1.5b (sh2.6trillion) in setting up infrastructure. The investment, set to kick off in December 2008, is said to become the single largest Chinese private investment in East Africa.
However, some people regard the proposed project as a dream. “This is a fairly tale,†says an LC official of Kabira sub-county, who requested anonymity. “They have been talking about it since the 1980s but we have not seen anything.â€
Some people also fear that this is likely to be another cult like Joseph Kibwetere’s Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments, which forced its members to live in an isolated community in the hills of Kanungu, western Uganda. Thousands of them were burnt to death in the church on March 17, 2000.
But the group’s leaders say they are being witch-hunted. “When people like Karim (Hirji) or Sudhir (Ruparelia) are investing, do you first ask whether they are Hindu?†asks Beenunula Eyeenunula, who has been appointed governor of the proposed eco-city.
Eyeenunula also insists that the aim is to attract investments to benefit rural people. “Our spiritual group is a foundation, just like Centenary Bank was founded by the Catholic Church and anybody can access it. Likewise, this city will become a free trade zone, like Dubai.â€
The trade zone is being aggressively promoted by Kagera Eco-Cities, an organisation owned by Eyeenunula and Njuba.
Commission of inquiry
The group is, however, under fire for its controversial practices. Earlier this year, President Yoweri Museveni set up a commission of inquiry into the activities of the Sserulanda group. There had been reports that the group was making ARVs. The commission was therefore asked to investigate “allegations of divine healing energy and capacity to cure incurable diseasesâ€.
The investigations are still going on, chaired by the dean of Makerere University Medical School, Prof. Nelson Ssewankambo.
“There have been a lot of stories and rumours about the foundation in terms of spiritual healing, and how they handle the dead people. We need to understand the organisation’s activities, leadership and membership. This is crucial before the Government gives the go-ahead for a free trade zone,†says Ssewankambo.
The commission also comprises the director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre, Dr. Peter Mugyenyi, and Dr. Grace Nambatya, head of research at the Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Laboratories. Other members are Richard Tushemereirwe, a state house official, and Harriet Tukamushaba, a state attorney.
Meeting the probe team on Wednesday, Presidential adviser Njuba wondered how the spiritual matters would be established.
“How will you ascertain the spiritual healing? How will you know each individual’s reason for joining the project?â€
Reacting to the concerns, the probe chairman Ssewankambo said they would conduct public hearings.
“We will advertise so that people come and tell us what they know about the spiritual foundation. When we reach a point where we don’t understand the issues of spiritualism, we will notify the President that we are not able to proceed.â€
Saturday Vision has learnt that the proposal for an eco-city had already been endorsed by the Government in a memorandum of understanding that was signed by state minister for investments Ssemakula Kiwanuka on January 18, 2006. Kiwanuka was not available for comment by press time yesterday.
A RELIGIOUS sect that preserves dead bodies is seeking to build a multi-million dollar autonomous city in Rakai district.
The Sserulanda Spiritual Foundation hopes to turn 200 square miles adjacent to Lake Victoria into a free trade zone, dubbed Ssessamirembe Spiritual City.
The area covers the sub-counties of Kabira, Kakuuto and parts of Kooki.
The group, suspected to be a cult, allows its members to choose whether to be buried or have their bodies preserved and kept in a common room, when they die.
On Wednesday, Saturday Vision saw three of the former members’ bodies in a secluded permanent house in Kabira village, about 20 minutes’ drive off the Masaka-Rakai highway.
While two of the bodies lay in coffins, another – belonging to a woman - was on a cradle neatly covered with white linen. Beside the bodies were lit candles. An elderly woman clad in gloves and a lesu was treating the bodies. The members strictly prohibit visitors from taking pictures inside the room.
“We can even preserve your smile if you asked to have it preserved,†a member told this reporter.
Saturday Vision also saw three grave yards, implying that the majority of the group’s members are buried. Some graves were bigger than others.
“Each grave is given a different value, depending on whether the person was an initiate (has spiritual power),†explains the group’s general administrator, Sseewabwewi Kyalisiima.
Contrary to common practice where graves are dug, here they are built up to waist level so that the body lies at ground level. This is allegedly to imitate the legendary Egyptian Pyramids.
Sserulanda’s members include high-profile personalities such as Gertrude Njuba, a presidential advisor on land matters. It is headed by His Imperishable Glory Ssaabayimiransibo Bambi Baaba Baabuwe, a Ugandan who has been living in the US for the last 15 years.
God in human form
Baaba is said to wield immense power over his followers, who consider him as a “god in human form.†He is said to have got a vision as early as three years of age to build a city and eradicate poverty. His real name was Jozzewafe Mugonza, and he grew up as a herbalist, diviner and healer, operating in Kyotera and Kalisizo in Rakai district. He reportedly later linked up with some Indian businessmen in Kyotera who sponsored him to travel to India in 1969. There he went through what his followers call the “12 stages of initiation†and became a “disciple of a divine living Master of Ancient Wisdomâ€. By the late 1970’s, he reportedly started buying land from individual households in Rakai, until he was able to secure a vast expanse of land.
When visiting the place, Saturday Vision found a huge plot which has shrubs and scattered shacks. A dusty murram road winds its way through the grass and anthills to a huge shrine, curved out of a rock. The man-made cave has a purple curtain hanging at the entrance. No one enters with shoes. Inside, a fire place is surrounded by dry grass that is carefully spread out for visitors to sit on. The fire burns day and night. In one corner is a portrait of the spiritual leader, Baaba.
Members are strictly forbidden from eating meat or any animal product, and drinking alcohol. This is allegedly in line with the teachings of Baaba, who combines Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and traditional Bachwezi practices in his religion.
Other practices include common ownership of some assets for the “common good†like land, kitchen, cattle kraal, reference library and burial grounds. Though members are allowed to own some personal private property like houses, cars, radios or television sets, they are all required to contribute to the common good.
Anyone who fails to contribute, risks having their membership cancelled or be denied access to communally owned resources.
The group has a charter which specifies how they will govern themselves in the autonomous city, according to information posted on their website www.sseesamirembe.com. They will have powers to enact their own laws, ordinances, by-laws and procedures, as well as provide and maintain a security force for the protection of the inhabitants of the city. Their judicial system will be led by a “High Chancellor†and only permanent residents of the zone will be eligible to hold the office of a “Governing Chancellorâ€. They will provide their own social services and infrastructure, independent of the central Government.
Key projects already planned by the group include an international airport, an airport city, hotels, international schools, shopping malls, business centres and cultural villages. It is planned to accommodate about 500,000 people.
Chinese investor
To build the city, the group plans to strike agreements with investors. Already, they have signed a deal with a Chinese company, Paradise International Investment, to invest $1.5b (sh2.6trillion) in setting up infrastructure. The investment, set to kick off in December 2008, is said to become the single largest Chinese private investment in East Africa.
However, some people regard the proposed project as a dream. “This is a fairly tale,†says an LC official of Kabira sub-county, who requested anonymity. “They have been talking about it since the 1980s but we have not seen anything.â€
Some people also fear that this is likely to be another cult like Joseph Kibwetere’s Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments, which forced its members to live in an isolated community in the hills of Kanungu, western Uganda. Thousands of them were burnt to death in the church on March 17, 2000.
But the group’s leaders say they are being witch-hunted. “When people like Karim (Hirji) or Sudhir (Ruparelia) are investing, do you first ask whether they are Hindu?†asks Beenunula Eyeenunula, who has been appointed governor of the proposed eco-city.
Eyeenunula also insists that the aim is to attract investments to benefit rural people. “Our spiritual group is a foundation, just like Centenary Bank was founded by the Catholic Church and anybody can access it. Likewise, this city will become a free trade zone, like Dubai.â€
The trade zone is being aggressively promoted by Kagera Eco-Cities, an organisation owned by Eyeenunula and Njuba.
Commission of inquiry
The group is, however, under fire for its controversial practices. Earlier this year, President Yoweri Museveni set up a commission of inquiry into the activities of the Sserulanda group. There had been reports that the group was making ARVs. The commission was therefore asked to investigate “allegations of divine healing energy and capacity to cure incurable diseasesâ€.
The investigations are still going on, chaired by the dean of Makerere University Medical School, Prof. Nelson Ssewankambo.
“There have been a lot of stories and rumours about the foundation in terms of spiritual healing, and how they handle the dead people. We need to understand the organisation’s activities, leadership and membership. This is crucial before the Government gives the go-ahead for a free trade zone,†says Ssewankambo.
The commission also comprises the director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre, Dr. Peter Mugyenyi, and Dr. Grace Nambatya, head of research at the Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Laboratories. Other members are Richard Tushemereirwe, a state house official, and Harriet Tukamushaba, a state attorney.
Meeting the probe team on Wednesday, Presidential adviser Njuba wondered how the spiritual matters would be established.
“How will you ascertain the spiritual healing? How will you know each individual’s reason for joining the project?â€
Reacting to the concerns, the probe chairman Ssewankambo said they would conduct public hearings.
“We will advertise so that people come and tell us what they know about the spiritual foundation. When we reach a point where we don’t understand the issues of spiritualism, we will notify the President that we are not able to proceed.â€
Saturday Vision has learnt that the proposal for an eco-city had already been endorsed by the Government in a memorandum of understanding that was signed by state minister for investments Ssemakula Kiwanuka on January 18, 2006. Kiwanuka was not available for comment by press time yesterday.