Gen Salim Saleh, OWC coordinator
I didn’t break Ndeeba church - Gen Saleh
Thursday August 13 2020
Gen Salim
Saleh, the coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), yesterday
denied involvement in the demolition of St Peter’s Church , Ndeeba.
Gen
Saleh was addressing a group of Anglican Bishops at National
Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) headquarters in Kawanda,
Wakiso District.
He asked the public to keep him out of land evictions and grabbing in Kampala.
He asked the public to keep him out of land evictions and grabbing in Kampala.
“I
don’t have any property in Kampala, the only one I have is the one in
Mbuya, a house. I sold everything in Kampala….when I was chased from the
army. The house in Mbuya is still there because my wife stopped me
[from] selling it. I am in Kapeeka, [but] I am hearing Saleh, you are
grabbing church land, am I mad [ to do that]?” Gen Saleh asked.
“In
the name of God. I want to swear to you that I am not involved in
breaking churches... That is crazy for one to think that Saleh can break
a church. Those saying so don’t know me,” Gen Saleh said.
The
House of Bishops led by the Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba visited the
NARO offices in Kawanda to discuss OWC with Gen Saleh and other
government officials.
The bishops asked government to give them Shs50 billion to facilitate church projects across the country.
The bishops asked government to give them Shs50 billion to facilitate church projects across the country.
Gen
Saleh said he had Shs60 billion budget for all the faith-based
organisations in the country but awaits approval from the Finance
ministry.
The church also asked for 37 tractors for all the dioceses across Uganda, 37 milling machines, protection and securing of church land.
The church also asked for 37 tractors for all the dioceses across Uganda, 37 milling machines, protection and securing of church land.
Gen Saleh assured the House of Bishops that the government was
going to bring to book all the culprits behind the demolition of St
Peter’s Church.
“All of these culprits will be
arrested, they will be brought to book. I always hear people saying that
Saleh, the President, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and others being
involved in the grabbing of land. These people just hide behind these
names and they shall be got and brought to book. I want to assure you
that I can never destroy a church,” Gen Saleh said.
The 45-year-old church was demolished in the wee hours of Sunday night.
Church demolition: Senior police officers, 11 others remanded
Friday August 14 2020
Seventeen
people including senior police officers have been charged and sent on
remand at Kitalya government prison on charges of unlawfully demolishing
St. Peter's church in Ndeeba Rubaga Division, Kampala.
Among
the jailed officers is the District Police Commander (DPC) of Katwe
police station David Epedu who is accused of conspiring with six other
officers attached to the Field Force Unit (FFU) and the ‘owner’ of the
contentious piece of land Dodoviko Mwanje to commit an act which threw
the entire nation into shock.
The accused who were
arrested by the State House Anti-corruption unit on Thursday afternoon
appeared before Makindye Court Grade One magistrate, Jude Okumu, where
they denied the charges.
The police officers are
separately faced four counts including disobedience of lawful orders of
the commander of Kampala Metropolitan area Moses Kafeero; who had
ordered them to deploy security at St. Peter's church in Ndeeba inorder
to avert any demolition or destruction at the said church.
The officers are also charged with theft of chairs, doors and other property belonging to the church.
The
officers appeared in the dock jointly with 11 other people including a
65-year old retired army officer, Muhammad Kawooya, together with whom
they face a charge of malicious damage of property.
It is alleged that on August 10, 2020, twelve people used an
excavator to break and cause damage to St. Peter's church Ndeeba; a
property of the Church of Uganda.
The accused who denied all the counts were remanded until August 24, 2020 for hearing of their bail applications.
Court
also issued criminal summons to Dodoviko Mwanje; the man said to be
behind the demolition of the church who was absent in court.
This was after prosecution informed court that Dodoviko has never been arrested and police are still searching for him.
Anglican church faithful expresses wrath about breaking down of
Ndeeba Church
If church can’t be spared, then what can?
Thursday August 13 2020
August 10
should be marked as a black day in Uganda’s history as the day when a
house of worship got razed. It is a day when the Anglican Church lost a
place of worship at the hands of those who are pursuing materialism.
Being
a daughter of a canon, we were nurtured under the Anglican umbrella and
one would miss anything, but not going to church. The horrific scene of
the whole Fountain of God, St Peters Church in Ndeeba, being pulled
down to rubble cannot get off my mind.
Imagine destroying a church in order to develop the place, including building an arcade, is outrageous.
The Bible warns us about our great love for money. ‘But Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it’ (1st Timothy 6:6-10).
The Bible warns us about our great love for money. ‘But Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it’ (1st Timothy 6:6-10).
‘But
if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who
want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish
and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the
love of money is the root of all kinds of evil’.
Nothing in this world can satisfy if one lacks Godliness. To any believer, a church is not just a structure, but something divine, and a holy ground where people gather to seek God’s grace.
Nothing in this world can satisfy if one lacks Godliness. To any believer, a church is not just a structure, but something divine, and a holy ground where people gather to seek God’s grace.
This is an attack
not only on the Anglican Church, but also on all believers. The act of
destroying a church shows that no one and nothing is safe. Legalities
must also be revisited with a view to ensuring that we respect what is
divine, if we are to claim that we are a God-fearing country.
In
all this, the most painful bit is that it is after the destruction of
the church and school that the government came out to arrest the
suspects, yet they were aware of this land wrangle for a long time. To
make matters worse, the erroneous act of destroying the temple of God,
was done in the night and with curfew in place.
The wrong doers might have though they are hiding from the
masses, but they cannot escape from the eye and hand of God. It was more
than a week when the men in uniform were guarding the same church that
sits on a two-acre land. So were the police not aware of this?
Any
attack against the church is a direct attack on God and as consequence,
the suspects should expect God’s wrath. 1st Corinthians 3:17, says: ‘If
any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him..’.
Question
is, what is left for the people of Uganda, if even schools and churches
are destroyed? These are the only places that give hope to the people.
Such acts might see many people lose hope and resort to evil means of
overcoming their stress.
Where was Namiremebe Church
and other Anglican leadership fraternity in all this? These are matters
that should call for serious and open condemnation. When the same church
was calling for legalising tithing, the alarm was loud and clear, but
when it came to defending the church, we hardly knew St Peters Church
was facing a problem. If we can’t defend the church, then we also can’t
defend anything else.
Not in a country whose motto is
‘For God and My Country’! Not the same nation whose leaders hold the
Holy Bible when they swearing-in. This is all cosmetic if we can’t stand
our ground and defend the church with all we have. It is a big shame.
Much as the law will take its course, it is said when two parties fail
to reconcile, there is power beyond legalities - and that is the power
of God. Parents should raise God-fearing children and not children who
will put material gains before their God.
With all the
vast land in Uganda, one insists on the Church land! The Anglican
Church should start the process of rebuilding the church. This church
should be rebuilt if we are to be in good books with God.
Carol Mukisa,
cnyangoma.22@gmail.com
cnyangoma.22@gmail.com
