Five years of street preaching

Unbothered by the hot afternoon sun, Patrick Katamba reads verses from his battered bible with the ease of a seasoned preacher.

The scorching sun does little to slow the verve with which he throws around verses.

Beads of sweat roll off his nostrils as he calls on passersby to repent and unchain themselves from the worldly evils.

For five years Katamba has been preaching on the street, criss-crossing between the railway line in Namuwongo and Mukwano Road.

In 2011, according to Katamba, God ordered him to start street evangelism. His wife, Alice Waswa had also had a similar dream that she would later relay to her husband.
“God told me to come to the street and preach,” he says narrating how he first preached on Kampala Road before relocating to the railway line in Namuwongo.

Born in Luwero District, Kiwewa village, Katamba, 43, is the seventh in a family of eight.

He went to Kololo Primary School in Luwero, before joining Nakasero High School in Rubaga, Kampala. His dream was to become a doctor but because he lacked school fees he could only afford to join a technical institute to study for a certificate.

He joined Kammengo Technical Institute in Rakai District and studied mechanical engineering for two years, before working as a mechanic for three months at a garage in Wandegeya. It was around that time when God ‘ordered’ him to start street evangelism.

Katamba starts his day with a morning service at 6am at Bethel Healing Centre, a church headed by Pr Irene Manjeri where he leaves at around 7.30am for his work station in Namuwongo.

“There are items that I never forget including a Bible, a bottle of water (when not fasting) and an umbrella,” he says.

In Namuwongo, Katamba preaches through out the day only breaking off at 4.30pm to have his late lunch and perhaps for convenience calls at a decrepit public toilet nearby.
Preaching has not been a bed of rose as Katamba has to take in insults as passersby mock him daily.

“Most people tell me I don’t want to work and that’s why I have turned to begging but I have grown accustomed to that,” he says.

Ironically, he says, he does not earn from street preaching that is why he can afford to says pay a deaf ear to the insults.

Asked how he survives, Katamba quotes Corinthians chapter 9, verse 13 which says: “…do you know that those who are employed in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?”

He says different people bless his ministry with money and many other things.

Neither he nor his wife has a formal source of income but they have to pay school fees for their 14-year-old daughter in Senior One.

A section of his family is not happy about the work he does and his mother has continually told him of her disappointment.

Unlike many street preachers, who build churches, Katamba, for the moment feels contented and will only build one if God tells him to. From the street, he says, some people, many of whom are always on the move, have walked to him asking to be prayed for.

Asaf Mulinde, who says Katamba has prayed for him, claims that he got a job after the prayer and is assisting Katamba in different aspects.

On Saturdays Katamba starts preaching at 7am and leaves at 6pm but on other days he leaves at 4.30pm for the intercession at Bethel Church.

On Sunday he spends much of the day at the church from 11am to 5pm.

He looks up to Pastor Robert Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Centre and to other street preachers.

Katamba says he is not moved by the stereotypes that insinuate that street preachers are beggars.

Nelson Mukasa, a boda boda cyclist nearby says Katamba is a good preacher who preaches optimism.

“Unlike other street preachers, his tone is not annoying. He is not confrontational and seems to preach to an imaginary audience because he is not too loud,” Mukasa says.

Old practice
Street preaching is as old as the Bible itself. It has never been popular either inside or outside the church. Open-air preaching and street evangelism has never been culturally relevant or socially acceptable.

What people say

Joseph Kaahwa, carpenter
Street preaching is a business. I am informed most of them are paid by prominent pastors.

Ruth Nabagirinya, secretary, Nice Furniture
I think most of them have turned street preaching into businesses to earn money.

Rogers Barigye, mechanic
They preach about Jesus. They are only doing their job much as it is disturbing to the ears.

Stellah Nanyanzi, Mobile Money agent
They make a lot of noise for us. Those who want to hear the word of God should go to church, so these preachers should find their audience there.

Aidah Nakawooza, businesswoman
They preach God’s word which is a good thing. It is the noise that comes with it that irritates me.

Job Musasizi, a Welder at Nandi Impressions
They are up to preaching God’s word and informing us about the end times. I believe the world will end soon since these preachers have appeared.