Solomon Male

Last updated

Moses Solomon Male
Born (1962-08-17) 17 August 1962 (age 62)
SpouseJustine Nanziri
ReligionChristian
ChurchArising for Christ

Moses Solomon Male (pronounced 'mal-eh') is a Pentecostal preacher in Uganda and executive director of Arising For Christ. He is an outspoken critic of corruption in churches, especially those that promote prosperity theology [1] [2] which he calls "the gospel of extortion".

Contents

Biography

Male was born on 17 August 1962, and converted to Christianity on 31 October 1987.[ citation needed ]

Ministry

In 1988 he became one of the ministers of a church, Holy Church of Christ, "New Chapter" renamed The Synagogue Church of All Nations, whose leaders and members are followers of John Obiri Yeboah, a Ghanaian-born former Catholic priest who came to Uganda. Male left that church in 1992, denouncing it as a cult. [3] In 1993 Male was arrested as a result of his accusations against the church, but he was later released and the case was withdrawn. [4]

In 1999 he founded Arising for Christ (ARCH), a Christian organisation. [5] The organisation claimed in January 2008 to have compiled a list of 300 believers who accuse born-again pastors of extortion, fraud, sex slavery and other crimes. [5]

In an interview with the Financial Times , Male claimed to be following Martin Luther who centuries before had railed against vice, luxury and corruption among his fellow clergy. He compares the manipulation of sick people, into paying for prayers, to the sale of indulgences: [2]

"The man who stood against the evil in the church was Martin Luther, because he was against the selling of worthless objects which were to save you from hell. The moment he started the Protestant movement, it gave hope that when something is wrong, there is the possibility of setting it right."

Described as Uganda's "homophobe-in-chief", [6] he is a member of a group of influential pastors campaigning against homosexuality. [7]

Campaigns and prominent casework

Frances Adroa, an HIV/AIDS patient, in July 2005 was coerced to surrender her car to the leaders of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Kampala in return for promises to heal her of AIDS during the church's Mount Sinai Campaign. She was not cured. During deterioration of her health condition, she demanded back her car. The church leaders, Bishop Gilson Costa and Pastor Gerald Nkayi claimed USh  2,000,000/= (over US$1,200), allegedly for its repairs, which she did not have. On 17 March 2007, she heard Pastor Male on the radio and later called him for an appointment to tell him how she had lost her car. When he confronted the church leaders, they eventually returned it in its damaged condition. When Male publicised the car return in newspapers and other media in 2007, the leaders sued him and Adroa for defamation. [1] [8] The libel claim failed in 2010, and both sides were left to bear their own costs. Adroa had counterclaimed for repairs to the car, but this also failed, as the magistrate did not want to create a precedent for donors to ask for their gifts back if prayers were not fulfilled. [9]

Solomon Male campaigns for greater financial accountability in churches. He says that the practice of giving land, cars or household goods to pastors in exchange for blessings, known as "sowing seeds of faith", is widespread in Uganda, and is generally not included in the churches' accounts. He reports that such donations are not even reported to boards or auditors, but are treated as the personal income of the pastors. Following up his report, the newspaper Sunday Vision checked the accounts of twelve Pentecostal churches, some of which were known for the practice; none declared any income from "sowing", and despite receiving billions of shillings, only Kampala Pentecostal Church and Redeemed Church had their accounts professionally audited. [10]

Male sought a judicial investigation into the case of Susan Walusimbi, who was encouraged by a former pastor to enter into a relationship with a man whom the church claimed to have cured of AIDS. Walusimbi says the man later died of AIDS; she is now HIV positive herself, and using anti-retroviral drugs to stay healthy. [8]

Arrest and conviction

In August 2009, with five other pastors, he was accused by 6 young men of inciting false testimony of rape against Pastor Robert Kayanja. [11] In October 2012, they were found guilty of defamation aimed at discrediting the reputation of Pastor Kayanja. [12] Male and his accomplices were fined one million shillings each (approximately US$390) and sentenced to one hundred hours of community service. After a rejected appeal, the conviction was upheld in the High Court of Justice in February 2014. [13]

Criticisms

The National Fellowship publicly disowned Male in 2006. He replied with an open letter denouncing their "patriarch" John Obiri Yeboah and other leading figures. [14]

In 2009 a group of pastors from four Pentecostal groups denounced Male as an "accuser of brethren who speaks without authority". [15] [16]

In 2013, he opposed the divorce and remarriage of Bishop David Kiganda, branding it to be contrary to Biblical teaching.[ citation needed ] Responding to such allegations, Pentecostal pastor Bishop David Kiganda, Kampala district chairman of the National Fellowship of Born Again Churches, says that only a minority of Pentecostal pastors are involved in questionable activities. He and the National Fellowship ran a program called Operation Clean the House to exclude dishonest preachers from the denomination, and declared 15 of their fellow churches to be "cults." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Portal</span> Place in Western Region, Uganda

Fort Portal or Kabarole is a city located in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Tooro Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Sylvia of Buganda</span> Nnabagereka of Buganda

Sylvia Nagginda is Queen of Buganda as the wife of Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Kayanja</span> Ugandan clergy

Robert Kayanja is the founder and senior pastor of the Miracle Centre Cathedral, a megachurch in Kampala. He is also the founder and CEO of a Christian television channel, Channel 44 Television.

Kojo Nana Obiri-Yeboah is a prominent Pentecostal pastor from Ghana who is active primarily in Uganda. He is the son of evangelical pastor John Obiri-Yeboah who was a well-known preacher in Uganda in the 1970s and 80s. His father was known for performing apparent miracles in his services.

The very high rate of human immunodeficiency virus infection experienced in Uganda during the 1980s and early 1990s created an urgent need for people to know their HIV status. The only option available to them was offered by the National Blood Transfusion Service, which carries out routine HIV tests on all the blood that is donated for transfusion purposes. The great need for testing and counseling resulted in a group of local non-governmental organizations such as The AIDS Support Organisation, Uganda Red Cross, Nsambya Home Care, the National Blood Bank, the Uganda Virus Research Institute together with the Ministry of Health establishing the AIDS Information Centre in 1990. This organization worked to provide HIV testing and counseling services with the knowledge and consent of the client involved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miracle Centre Cathedral</span> Church in Kampala, Uganda

The Miracle Centre Cathedral is a Pentecostal megachurch in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The church's Senior Pastor is Robert Kayanja. In 2017, the attendance is 15,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robb Thompson</span> American clergyman

Robert D. Thompson is the founder and president of Family Harvest International, a worldwide network of Christian congregations. He is the founder of Family Harvest Church in Tinley Park, Illinois, a racially diverse church with over 4,000 members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gideon Byamugisha</span>

Reverend Canon Gideon Byamugisha is an Anglican priest in Uganda with a parish outside of Kampala. In 1992, he became the first religious leader in Africa to publicly announce that he was HIV positive. In 2009, Byamugisha received the 26th annual Niwano Peace Prize "in recognition of his work to uphold the dignity and human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014</span> Ugandan law

The Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 was an act passed by the Parliament of Uganda on 20 December 2013, which prohibited sexual relations between persons of the same sex. The act was previously called the "Kill the Gays bill" in the western mainstream media due to death penalty clauses proposed in the original version, but the penalty was later amended to life imprisonment. The bill was signed into law by the President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni on 24 February 2014. On 1 August 2014, however, the Constitutional Court of Uganda ruled the act invalid on procedural grounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Ssempa</span> Ugandan pastor

Martin Ssempa is a Ugandan charismatic pastor, activist, and the founder of the Makerere Community Church. He referred to himself as Pastor Doctor Martin Ssempa, but now calls himself Gabriel Baaba Gwanga'mujje Eri Yesu. Ssempa first came to international prominence in 2010, after a presentation video he made at his church, which showcased his opposition to homosexuality, went viral.

The Uganda Senior Command and Staff College (USCSC) is a training facility for senior commanders in the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF), including the army, air force, and special forces.

<i>Call Me Kuchu</i> 2012 American documentary film directed by Malika Zouhali-Worrall

Call Me Kuchu is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright. The film explores the struggles of the LGBT community in Uganda, focusing in part on the 2011 murder of LGBT activist David Kato.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idah Nantaba</span> Ugandan politician

Ida Erios Nantaba is a Ugandan politician. She was the State Minister in the Uganda Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. She was appointed to that position on 6 June 2016. Prior to that, from 15 August 2012 until 6 June 2016, she was Minister of State for Lands in the Cabinet of Uganda. Nantaba is also the elected Member of Parliament for Women in Kayunga District Constituency.

Peter Ndimbirwe Mugyenyi, MBChB, DCH, FRCPI, FRCPE, ScD is a Ugandan physician, HIV/AIDS researcher, medical administrator and author. He is executive director and co-founder of the Joint Clinical Research Centre, and a leading authority on treatment of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Phillip Wafula Oguttu is a Ugandan journalist and politician. He is a former Leader of Opposition in the Ugandan Parliament. He was appointed to that position on 31 January 2014, replacing Nandala Mafabi, and held it until June 2016 when he handed over the position to Winnie Kiiza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Olum</span> Ugandan general

Major General Richard Prit Olum, commonly known as Dick Olum, is a military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF). Effective 13 May 2024, he serves as commander of the "South Sudan Stabilization Mechanism", an observer force to ensure adherence to the peace agreements. Before that, he served as the Ugandan commander of the UPDF forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the joint Uganda/DRC mission code named Operation Shujaa. He simultaneously served as the commander of the UPDF Mountain Division, based in Fort Portal, Kabarole District at the base of the Rwenzori Mountains. His appointment was made on 12 October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Nkesiga</span> Anglican priest from Uganda

Diana Nkesiga was one of the first women to be ordained by the Anglican Church of Uganda. After earning her degree in theology, she was denied ordination but was permitted to become a commissioned worker in 1989 and a deacon in 1991. Passed over for the priesthood in 1992, she pushed authorities in both Uganda and then South Africa, where she was doing mission work to allow her to be ordained. Finally in 1994, she was ordained by the Anglican Church in Uganda. Returning to South Africa, she had difficulty finding a placement as a priest until Bishop Desmond Tutu intervened. After 13 years in South Africa, she returned to Uganda in 2005. She is currently the Vicar of All Saints' Cathedral in Kampala.

Roy D. Mugerwa was a Ugandan physician, cardiologist and researcher. His contribution to the world of academics include being a Professor Emeritus at Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala, cardiology in Uganda, researching HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and his efforts to find an effective HIV vaccine.

Kenneth Kimuli Amooti is a Ugandan comedian, playwright and journalist. He is well known as Pablo in the Ugandan comedy circles. He won the first Multi-Choice Stand Up Uganda comedy competition. After losing both parents to HIV/AIDS at an early age, he has formed charity organisations; Pill Power Uganda and Tangaza Arts Centre which aim to support youth living with HIV/AIDS.

Jessica Kayanja is a Ugandan Pastor, philanthropist and entrepreneur. She is best known as the wife of Robert Kayanja, a prominent Ugandan pastor and founder of the Miracle Centre Cathedral.

References

  1. 1 2 Church sues HIV-positive ex-member Archived 17 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine , New Vision, 2 December 2008.
  2. 1 2 John Lloyd, "The riches of heaven", FT Weekend magazine, 25 October 2008.
  3. ↑ Pastors robbing in Jesus' name?, The Weekly Observer, 5 April 2007
  4. ↑ Desecration of my kingdom Archived 18 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine , New Vision, 18 May 2003. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 "City pastor held over defilement". Sunday Monitor. 27 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  6. ↑ "Bernard Randall's trial highlights Uganda's 'homophobe-in-chief' Pastor Solomon Male". The Advertiser . 11 December 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  7. ↑ Beck, Rasmus Thirup (4 February 2013). "Gay people in Uganda: love on the run". The Guardian . Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Uganda Pastors Accused of Weakening Fight Against AIDS Archived 23 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine , Voice of America News, May 2007
  9. ↑ Uganda: Church Loses Libel Case, New Vision, 22 June 2010. Cited at AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  10. ↑ Churches declare billions, Sunday Vision, 18 August 2007.
  11. ↑ Chris Obore, Uganda: Police Get Kayanja Off the Hook; Charge Pastors, Monitor via allafrica.com, 9 August 2009
  12. ↑ NV, Pastor Kayanja Sodomy Accusers Convicted, newvision.co.ug, 3 October 2012
  13. ↑ Monitor, High Court upholds sentence granted to Pastor Ssempa and colleagues, monitor.co.ug, 19 February 2014
  14. ↑ New Vision, 6 June 2006, page 2. Solomon Male (7 June 2006). "Open Letter To Pastor Alex Mitala – NFBAPC Chairman". Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2010. Alt URL
  15. ↑ Arising for Christ Archived 12 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine at Cephas Ministries website
  16. ↑ Pentecostal Pastors Denounce Male, New Vision, 6 May 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.