Pastor Bujingo in court over burning of Bibles
Followers of Pastor Aloysius Bujingo of the House of Prayer Ministries International at the entrance of Nabweru Court where police blocked from entrance on Monday. Photo by Stephen Otage
What you need to know:
- According to counsel Wameli, Pastor Bujingo has demonised some types of Bibles claiming that they are not preaching the word of God because they refer to the Holy Spirit as Holy Ghost.
- It’s further alleged that before Pastor Bujingo could set ablaze the aforementioned Bibles, he reportedly told his flock that King James Version and the New Testament, were tampered with and that some verses were omitted without explanation.
Hundreds of followers of Pastor Aloysius Bujingo of the House of Prayer Ministries International on Monday swarmed Nabweru Court where he appeared to defend himself on allegations of burning Bibles recently.
However, police blocked the rowdy followers from accessing court premises due to fear of disrupting court proceedings.
The anxiously followers were also heard praying for their pastor aloud and in what they described as tongues.
Given the deafening chants from the followers, the Chief Magistrate, Ms Esther Nasambu was forced to halt proceedings for five minutes to allow Pastor Bujingo calm them down.
She had vowed not to stop the proceedings if the noise went on unabated.
The application sought temporary injunction against Mr Bujingo from burning Bibles more Bibles pending the disposal of the main case.
Pastor Aloysius Bujingo (C) in Nabweru Court where he was summoned to defend himself on allegations of Burning bibles. Photo by Anthony Wesaka
According to Anthony Wameli Yeboah, the lawyer representing Aloysius Kizza Matovu and Evangelist Francisco Semugooma who sued, Pastor Bujingo was served the summons on Tuesday.
“It is criminal for him to burn Bibles because it goes against the Constitution which guarantees freedom of worship and he is abusing the objects of worship which include Bibles, Qurans, rosaries and any other items people may choose to use during worship,” Mr Wameli said recently.
He added that they need a restraining order against Mr Bujingo because they have reliable information that the pastor has continued burning more Bibles every day.
“We are not witch-hunting the pastor but we want him to know that there are future generations that should find Bibles and know that our grand-parents used to pray using them,” Mr Matovu who was once a close friend of Pastor Bujingo said.
One of the complainants, Aloysius Matovu addressing journalists after the magistrate ordered them to silence their rowdy followers at court. Photo by Stephen Otage
According to counsel Wameli, Pastor Bujingo has demonised some types of Bibles claiming that they are not preaching the word of God because they refer to the Holy Spirit as Holy Ghost.
In April this year, the preacher stunned the public when he allegedly burned Bibles of King James Version (KJV) and Good News version which he collected from flock on Easter Sunday.
The core reason for burning the aforementioned version of the Bibles was that they bore the words ‘Holy Ghost’ as opposed to ‘Holy Spirit.’
It’s further alleged that before Pastor Bujingo could set ablaze the aforementioned Bibles, he reportedly told his flock that King James Version and the New Testament, were tampered with and that some verses were omitted without explanation.
He cited the lines talking about the fasting and Lent which he said were deleted through unclear circumstances and that the word “Holy Ghost” appears 99 times yet the word “Holy Spirit” appears only seven times.
The pastor allegedly said the defects in the Bible were the handiwork of “devil worshipers” and should, therefore, not be allowed to confuse Christians.
