Noisy pastor arrested after   quietly jumping police bond 

A Pentecostal pastor who failed to heed the wisdom in the Book of Proverbs was forced to read from Lamentations after he was detained over noise pollution.

“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles,” counsels Proverbs 21:23, but it is a lesson Pastor James Bisoboka, 49, learned the hard way after being picked up on Monday by officers from the Environment Protection Police Unit, and those from the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

Pastor Bisoboka of the Honnest Alliance Ministries Church International first broke police radio silence in July 2023 when he was questioned over the level of noise from his church in Butabika, a Kampala City suburb. He was granted police bond as investigations continued but quietly gave the officers the slip and continued to preach from the mountain top.

He was eventually arrested on Monday and forced to spend the night in custody during which he would have considered the guidance from Lamentations that “when we suffer, we should sit alone in silent patience”. 

Pastor Bisoboka was released yesterday after the intervention of Bishop David Kiganda, the head of the National Pastors’ Platform of Uganda, an umbrella body. Bishop Kiganda said it was the first case of arrest of a worship centre leader for noise pollution since President Museveni directed the police to stop such operations in 2022.

“He spent the night in the cells at Nema. I contacted the executive director of Nema and the pastor has been released on police bond,” Bishop Kiganda said yesterday.

Conflicts between religious congregations singing hosanna to the high heavens and restless neighbours trying to descend to the depths of sleep are not new. A combination of poor physical planning rules allowing noise-producing establishments within residential areas and exponential improvements in public address systems have led to shouting matches.

These went up a few decibels after the re-opening of the economy post-Covid-19 when many places of worship, starved of the faithful and finances, amplified their praise and worship, especially at night, leading to several noise pollution complaints.

The din drew the attention of Deputy Inspector General of Police Maj Gen Geoffrey Katsigazi, who set up a team and a public hotline to respond to noise pollution complaints countrywide. These officers tiptoed across the country impounding equipment and disrupting religious services, prompting Pentecostal pastors to petition President Museveni to halt the operation.

President Museveni responded to Bishop Kiganda’s petition against the closure of churches and confiscation of their equipment on allegations of noise pollution in an August 2022 letter, which only became public this week.

Although President Museveni stopped the police operations from enforcing the noise pollution regulations, he sought a Solomonic resolution by questioning the practice of loud prayers, especially at night.

“In the meantime, you as people of God, also try to answer the following questions: Does loud noise at night disturb people who are sleeping or does it not? If it does, is it Godly to insist on it?” President Museveni asked.

“If the trans-night worship is for you as a team to praise God, why do you have to use loudspeakers and disturb people who need quiet, especially at night? Does God need a megaphone to hear your praise or prayers? If, then, your aim is to publicise your faith, why do you not wait for the time when people have rested and are awake?”

Asked about the President’s letter, Bishop Kiganda said yesterday that they held meetings with Nema officials and agreed on how to enforce the noise pollution control regulations.

“We agreed that there should be self-regulation in churches on noise pollution,” he said. “We also said if there are complaints about a church that doesn’t adhere to the noise standards, we [the leaders of the pastors’ platform] should be informed first so that we visit the locus and verify the information then take action.”

Bishop Kiganda claimed that some of the complaints about noise pollution emitted from churches had hidden motives.

“Some people had land wrangles with the churches and used that opportunity to invite the police to evict the worship centres,” he said. “There are others who were angry that their children converted to those churches and wanted to get rid of them using noise complaints to the police.” 

According to the National Environment (Noise Standard and Control) Regulations, 2003, no one is allowed to exceed 75 decibels in busy places from 6am to 10pm, and 50 decibels between 10pm and 6am. In residential places, the limit is 60 decibels during the day and 40 at night.

Most places of worship, including churches and mosques, are not sound-proofed and do not meet these noise limits. Many are located in residential areas and tend to drive light sleepers away from God and closer to murder.

Many people neighbouring centres of worship have either complained loudly or gone to court in an attempt to be heard.

Last month, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka issued a notice warning noise polluters that their operating licences would be cancelled if found in violation of the law.

However, Bishop Kiganda said the law on noise pollution does not allow their message to hit home. He cited the 60-decibel limit for churches as unrealistic and called for more research about how much louder the voices of the faithful should be allowed to soar to the heavens. He also cited difficulties in measuring noise levels.

“We bought our own equipment but when Nema officials visited our churches, they said the devices we have aren’t to their standards. They said there is a need to reset them first,” he said.

Nema spokesperson Naomi Namara Karekaho said they have met church leaders severally over noise pollution and many are beginning to listen to reason. 

“There are many Pentecostal churches in Uganda. Majority of them are complying with the law, but a few that don’t abide by the law are the ones that are causing problems for others,” she said.

Ms Namara said Nema and the police will not keep quiet over noise-making places of worship lest litigants continue to collect large sums in compensation. “We have to enforce the law because we can’t allow the country to lose resources in litigation,” she said.   

Deputy Police spokesperson Claire Nabakka said the police listen carefully to complaints and handle noise pollution complaints on a case-by-case basis. The policy, she said, is to emphasise peaceful coexistence of neighbours.  

“Last year, there were many complaints and we were handling them as they came. We have been warning people. We call [the suspects] and caution them,” Ms Nabakka said yesterday.

As religious leaders pray for their words to soften the hearts of believers, sleepers will be praying for peace and quiet.

The law
Penalty for noise pollution 

“A person who - (a) emits noise in excess of the permissible noise levels … (b) fails, neglects or refuses to control noise in accordance with these Regulations; (c) fails to immediately reduce noise to a permissible noise level when required to do so; (d) causes or contributes to the emission of noise in excess of the permissible noise levels from or within the vicinity of the premises during a prohibited period: (e) fails, without lawful justification, to comply with any term or condition of a licence or order issued under these Regulations; (f) makes a statement, or produces a document, that is false or misleading in a material particular; or (g) obstructs the executive director [of Nema], an environmental inspector or member of a local council in the execution of his or her duties, commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not less than one hundred and eighty thousand shillings and not more than eighteen million shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding eighteen months, or both.”

Section 21 (1) of The National Environment (Noise Standards And Control) Regulations, 2003.

Noise: Trigger for conflicts, loss of property value  
Noise under the law of Uganda’s environmental watchdog, the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), is “undesirable sound that is intrinsically objectionable or that can cause adverse effects on human health or the environment”. 

The sources are diverse - places of worship, bars, discotheques, factories, construction sites and workshops – and forms are varied.

Depending on intensity, noise can trigger vibrations that can cause cracks to physical assets such as buildings and roads. 

The downsides are many, among them, distractions, disruptions, mental stress, and anger. Irritation from indiscriminate noise can spark outrage and social conflict between neighbours and rival activities, leading to physical confrontations, litigation and hatred.  

According to the National Environment Act, annoyance from noise that the law recognises is a feeling of displeasure, resentment, discomfort or irritation occurring when “noise intrudes into another person’s thoughts or mood, or interferes with any activity being done by the affected person”.

Noise pollution can disrupt sleep, leading to restlessness, anxiety and distress, which contribute to mental health challenges. Noise is measured in units called decibels, which is “dimensionless unit comparing magnitude of sound pressures or powers”. 

To make sense of the unit, the purring of a functioning refrigerator is about 40 decibels and traffic noise may top 80 decibels, depending on vehicle type and traffic concentration.  

The government moved in to regulate disturbance caused by noisy activities in order to maintain harmony in society by separating incompatible land uses and juxtaposing compatible ones. 

This ordering of land use is a function of urban or spatial planning, which aims to produce optimal space for competing purposes on a finite resource (land) and deliver enjoyable livable neighbourhoods, but developers hardly comply. 

So, disturbances from uncontrolled noise, for example by bars and worship places situated in residential areas, can lead to loss of property value as tenants exit to quieter places. 

What they say...
 

Naome Karikaho, Nema spokesperson
We have been implementing the regulations. We have a law on noise pollution and have ensured compliance, issued warnings and also impounded equipment in some cases but we are working together with other enforcement authorities.

Simon Kasyate, KCCA spokesperson
We don’t segregate but we are very clear on the issue of noise pollution. We carry out enforcements, which start with engagements and go up to confiscation of equipment but it all starts with engagements.

Pr Martin Ssempa, Makerere Community Church
Some of the pastors think praying is shouting on loudspeakers. I even complained to the police. I, however, call upon the enforcement agencies to exercise equality while regulating because it is bad to crack down on born again and leave [night] clubs.

Ashiraf Zziwa, spokesperson, Uganda Supreme Council
Our Adhan (call for prayers) is so convenient, melodious and natural. We don’t make a lot of noise to inconvenience others and it is done in a short period of time without any musical instrument. I have never heard anyone complaining about it.

Dr Moses Maka, Archbishop, Seventh Day Adventist in Uganda
The questions the President is raising are logical. We cannot continue to live together before addressing these issues. There is a need for mass sensitisation such that we live and pray as we respect people we co-exist with. 

Sarah Mpabwa, Former Member of Parliament
Mosques have megaphones all over the place. I am happy that everybody is now looking for God but you must be considerate when praying. Don’t impose yourself onto other people.

Patrick Munyaka, Kenyan national
In Kenya, we have a body called NAKADA, which regulates pollution. You cannot have a bar or church in a residential area. The penalties are too prohibitive and this has kept the perpetrators at bay.

Anita Namutebi, Business woman
I live near a church and to make it worse, there is a bar nearby. They don’t respect our peace. You leave work tired and hope to rest when you reach home, only to be inconvenienced.

Beatrice Mwagala, Born Again Christian
We pray at 3am when God gives us anointing but we do not play loud music to inconvenience the neighbours. They could be having their own health problems. 

Musa Mulwasira, Businessman
For the Mosque, it is understandable because their prayers are short but bars and churches need to soundproof their premises. If they can’t afford soundproofing, then they have no reason to continue with their business.

Compiled by Busein Samilu & Stephen Otage