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Mbarara residents want street preachers regulated
Pastor Justus Musinguzi of Cooperation Christian Fellowship Church preaching on Buremba Road in Mbarara City, on April 13, 2023. PHOTO/RAJAB MUKOMBOZI
What you need to know:
- “Yes, there could be genuine people preaching the Word of God but I think beggars and conmen have also started posing as street preachers to fleece people in the name of religion,” said Mr Kityo.
Mbarara City residents have appealed to authorities to prevail over street preachers they accuse of abetting noise pollution and being a nuisance.
Residents have appealed to the government to regulate the street preachers , arguing that they disorganise businesses in the city.
“They are an inconvenience, they come to your stage and start preaching, singing, you are disrupted even customers abandon the stage because of the inconvenience and commotion,” Mr Boaz Atwiine, a boda boda cyclist at Mbarara High Street, said.
Mr Ssezi Kityo, a taxi operator at Shell Ankole, said he suspects some criminals are masquerading as street preachers.
“Yes, there could be genuine people preaching the Word of God but I think beggars and conmen have also started posing as street preachers to fleece people in the name of religion,” said Mr Kityo.
He added:”We had a person who used to preach here. We later realised he was a criminal after he was arrested by police over theft and house break-ins.”
Mr Kityo said street preaching needs to be regulated and possibly preachers carry with them tags from churches and ministries they serve.
Mr Jordan Butamanya, a businessman on Markhan Singh Street, agreed with Mr Kityo on the need for regulation.
“I am a born-again Christian, I am not against preaching but it has to be organised because someone comes and puts a speaker in front of your shop, and starts singing, and preaching. A customer of another religion might not be comfortable with this inconvenience and will go to another shop,” he said.
Ms Shanita Atukunda, a street vendor, said:“We have no problem with street preachers because some of the people rarely go to places of worship but they are becoming too many and we may soon start competing with them for space on streets.”
Pastor Robert Kyarigonza Rwetamo, who has preached for over 30 years, said, some preachers storm the streets for survival and must be regulated.
“The challenge we have is that you cannot differentiate someone who is preaching for survival or has been called by God. It’s good to have these street preachers registered and the ministries they serve under, this will help us to serve God better,” he said.
Other pastors have also defended street preaching. They said it is one of the ways to spread the gospel to people.
“One of the considerations to grant Mbarara a city status was population growth, the population in Mbarara City has grown, preaching is like service delivery so the increasing number of street preachers is intended to reach as many people as possible since we will not have a church at every corner,” said Pastor Robert Nyesiga of Living Water Ministries.
Pastor Emmanuel Asiimwe of Mbarara Christian Fellowship said condemning street preaching is unfair.
He said: “If taxi touts can shout throughout the day in taxi and bus parks where there are other businesses and there are promotional activities in the city all over the week, how do you condemn street preaching?”
“I think it’s the devil’s work against God’s ministry, and as his messengers, we will not accept to be intimidated,” Pastor Asiimwe said.
Pastor Annet Kyokusima, from Arise Ministries in Kakiika, Mbarara City North said:“People keep insulting us while some call us mad or conmen. But we have endured these challenges because God has called us to spread the gospel.”
The clerk of Mbarara City, Mr Assy Abireeba, said street preaching is unacceptable in the city.
“It’s an illegal activity in the city. Soon, we shall take action and penalise some of them because they cause confusion and sometimes noise pollution in the city,” Mr Abireeba said.
