Govt moves to register, regulate all churches

The government has embarked on formulating a clear and comprehensive national policy framework to govern the registration and regulation of Religious and Faith Organisations (RFOs) in the country. 
The draft National Religious and Faith Organisations (RFOs) Policy, 2023, will be steered by the Directorate for Ethics and Integrity (DEI) in the Office of the President. 

The Directorate says the need for the policy was forced by manipulation of congregations by certain leaders within RFOs. It also cites the notable absence of a comprehensive guidance for the government’s engagement with and support of RFOs. 

The Permanent Secretary in the Directorate of Ethics and Integrity, Mr Alex Bwangamoi Okello, yesterday said the absence of such a regulatory framework had created a multitude of challenges for the RFOs.
Mr Okello told this publication in an interview at his office in Kampala that the hosts of problems arising from activities of the different religious bodies have compelled the government to come up with the draft comprehensive regulatory framework. 

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Sins of RFOs
The draft policy lists some of the current ills among RFOs as manipulation, exploitation of followers, loss of property and lives, disunity among the faithful, increased rates of domestic violence, family breakdowns, societal instability, promotion of immorality, and noise pollution. 
The draft document also catalogues the main causes of the problem as moral decay among RFO leaders and the faithful, lack of specific regulatory framework for RFOs, lack of accountability standards or systems in RFO operations, lack of formal training for leaders or preachers, and negative foreign influence among RFOs. 

 “It’s government’s responsibility to protect the lives and property of Ugandans. So, when people are killed as was in Kanungu [in 2000], and an uprising by Alice Lakwena [1986 to 1988] under the guise of the Holy Spirit Movement to liberate Ugandans, but mixing it with politics,” Mr Okello said. 
“Religion should do what the Constitution says they should do,” he added. 
On March 17, 2000, the country woke up to horrifying news of the death of more than 500 followers of the Movement for the Restoration of Ten Commandments of God Church in Kanungu Village in Kanungu District, western Uganda. 

On March 25, barely a week after the inferno, 153 more bodies were discovered buried in one of the cult’s buildings in Buhinga Village, in Rukungiri District. Two days later, another 155 bodies were discovered buried under the house of Fr Dominic Kataribabo’s home in Rugazi, Bushenyi District. 

Kataribabo was one of the cult leaders. 
After another two days, 81 more bodies were found in Rushojwa and slightly after more than a month, after the incident in Kanungu, another 55 bodies were excavated in April 2000 in Buziga, an upscale residential suburb of Kampala. 
Now, the proposed policy, which sets out to foster the culture of transparency and accountability among RFOs in Uganda, also aims to empower them to contribute effectively to the country’s development, promote unity amid diversity, and establish standards that inspire confidence among all stakeholders. 
Mr Okello, who warned on the lack of accountability standards or systems in RFO operations, said: “You collect money for building a church; but the church is not growing, and the money keeps disappearing. That is what the government wants to do [stop]; to be accountable to the church, and to the people.” 

“We don’t want a church to become a place of manipulation. So many people have been conned in the church, even over land ownership. Some people have given their land for the church and for everybody, but the church leaders have grabbed the land and have made the land their own,” he added. 

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Validation exercise
The policy that is currently under validation, also seeks to enhance collaboration between RFOs and government and promote full participation in enhancing social service delivery, and economic development. 
The Directorate of Ethics and Integrity embarked on the development of the Religious Faith based Organization Policy from April 2016. The validation has already been conducted in Lango, part of Acholi, Karamoja, Teso and part of Bugisu sub-regions. 

Speaking during a validation exercise in Lango Sub-region for religious leaders in Lira City on March 5, the Rev Can Aaron Mwesigye, the director of Religious Affairs at the Directorate, said the policy is meant to prepare religious leaders to work together with the government for national development. 

“The ongoing validation is intended to make religious leaders own the draft before the policy is approved by the Cabinet. The policy will put in place mechanisms that religious institutions can use to proactively identify and deal with corrupt people,“ he added. 

RFOs react 
Bishop Sanctus Lino Wanok of Lira Catholic Diocese, said: “Now the country will not lose the battle against corruption when we have a regulatory instrument in place, beginning with ourselves because when there is corruption everybody get corrupt indirectly.” 

The Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) welcomed the policy, but advised the government to make it more facilitating than regulatory. 
Mr Joshua Kitakule, the Secretary General of IRCU, said: “Religious leaders who are operating outside the norm of our expectations should be dealt with by other laws. For instance, if the case is criminal, the Penal Code can be applied.” 

Dr Muhammad Kiggundu, the Director of Communication, Research and International Office of the Supreme Mufti, said the office of the Supreme Mufti welcomes any policies as long as they are intended to support the community. 
“ We do not have any objection to any policy as long as it is for the good of the community, but what matters is that it requires a thorough study, understanding it properly, and establishing its intention to see whether you are taking the right angle and the prayers are the right people,” he said.
 
The findings of the 2014 Census indicate that Catholics are the largest religious denomination in the country, constituting nearly 40 percent of the population, followed by Anglicans with 32 percent, and Muslims with about 14 percent. Together, these denominations account for more than 80 percent of the total population of Uganda. 

About National Religious and Faith Organisations (RFOs) Policy, 2023 

Problem statement
The absence of a comprehensive regulatory framework governing the exercise of freedoms like liberty and worship, as outlined in Article 29(1)(c) of the Constitution of Uganda, has given rise to a multitude of challenges faced by the public in their interactions with various Religious and Faith Organisations (RFOs).

The 10 earthly sins
• Manipulation 
• Exploitation of followers 
• Loss of property and lives, 
• Disunity among the faithful 
• Increased rates of domestic violence 
• Family breakdowns 
• Societal
• Instability 
• Promotion of immorality 
• Noise pollution

Main causes of the problem are:
i) Moral decay among RFO leaders and faithful.
ii) Lack of specific regulatory framework for RFOs.
iii) Lack of accountability standards/ systems in RFO operations.
iv) Lack of formal training for leaders/preachers.
v) Negative foreign influence among RFOs.

ADF

The Allied Democratic Force (ADF), formed by mainly disgruntled elements of the Tabliq sect joined forces with actors from Uganda’s deposed political regimes to form the Allied Democratic Force (ADF), a terrorist group that has been described by the United Nations as seeking to impose Sharia law across Uganda. 
From 1998 to 2000, the ADF launched a series of attacks on Ugandan targets, including one in 1998 on Kichwamba Technical College where 80 students were burned alive in dormitories.