sodomy in church

By Simon Kasyate (Source: The Monitor, Kampala)

Victim reveals inside story

July 9, 2007: Twenty six year old Mr Julius Lukyamuzi's story sounds like the paradigm in the ancient Greek tragedies that the more you attempt to run away from fate the more you are running towards it.

Julius had a shattered childhood after his parents separated in mid 1990s. He lived his early years in destitution with his mother near Bwebajja on Entebbe Road. After his Primary Seven education, he came to the city in 1995 in search of employment. His story reveals how he found home on the streets, teamed up with street gangs for survival.

But when later he re-discovered himself to abandon the Devil and turn to Christ, little did he know that he was actually running towards a bigger Devil than what he was fleeing.

His story is a fusion of sadness, exploitation and betrayal inflicted on him by people who were supposed to protect and counsel him. It's also a glaring exposure of the emptiness of some of the emerging evangelical churches of pseudo-puritans who have turned into Devil's disciples.

Mr Julius narrated this seemingly unbelievable but chilling story to Sunday Monitor with documentary and pictorial evidence to support his assertions.

"One day in 1995, I was living at the Freedom Square in Katwe, a gospel crusade by Pastor Deo Balabyekubo, was announced.

A policeman Mr Opolot who we had always seen around called me. I went straight to him. He asked why I was not getting saved. I got saved. He called a lady Aunt Jas who took me and other boys to Kibuye Prayer Palace of Pastor Balabyekubo. The next day, we met Balabyekubo and he promised to take us back to school. But he died shortly later. I was staying at the church with about 15 other boys. When we returned from his burial certain pastors started picking us one by one.

I was picked by Pastor Grace Kitaka. He took me to his home in Mengo near Bulange. (This is at Zakariya Kisingiri's house next to the Supreme Court and Kitaka is Kisingiri's grandchild). Kitaka told me he wanted me to stay with him and leave Kibuye Prayer Palace.

He collected me from the church the next day. He introduced me to his mother Princess Mugale. I found there big boys like Sebwama, Wilberforce, Andrew Kalibala, Aaron and others.

He had no wife and children but had many adopted children. The same year 1995 he asked me if I wanted to go back to school. I agreed. He took me to Dynamic SSS. He introduced me as his son and renamed me Kitaka. I was now known as Julius Kitaka.

At his home, I shared a room with a boy David Lule. But we later conflicted and Pastor Kitaka asked me to start sleeping in his room. We were eight boys. He started using me for many strange things (breaks down into sobs). He would take me to the bathroom and force me to masturbate him (sobs uncontrollably).

Even Lule used to do it but we could not tell each other what we were going through.

In 1996 we stopped going to Kibuye Prayer Palace and started going to Kansanga Miracle Centre at Pastor Kiwewesi's Church. Kitaka is good at music. Churches used to invite him to work for them. So Kiwewesi had called him to help him. Kitaka had no church of his own.

At Kansanga, there were many pastors including Kiwewesi, Simbwa and Namutebi. Kitakka was a pastor for music. We were like his children and very close to him. In 1996 while in S.2, on a Sunday night, he took me to a small room. He left and returned with a blanket, gave it to me and left again. He returned later and told me to masturbate him.

I did and he started sodomising me (weeps). Because it was raining outside, nobody could hear my screams. I fled to the door, kicked it several times but no one could hear. (Julius breaks down again). That night I could not sleep. (breaks down again). In the morning Kitaka came and told me to go to the bathroom. He followed me and watched me as I bathed. Later I went to his sister Irene Kisingiri (they lived together) and told her. The woman knew his habits. She just said they would try to lock my room so that he did not disturb me again.

I reported to the LCI chairman, Mr Kabanda. After telling him the story, he asked: "Aren't you the son of Pastor Grace Kitaka called Julius Kitaka?"

The LCI man told me this was a family matter which would be settled at family level. I told him I am Julius Lukyamuzi. He refused to give me a reference letter to the police and said he would come home to arbitrate.

When he came, we sat and Irene counselled the brother and advised that I be taken to hospital. They took me to Dr Kalibala of Namirembe Hospital who has a clinic in Nakulabye. He checked me and wrote a report, which Kitaka took.