President Museveni has warned pastors to stop preaching misleading gospel to believers that encourages laziness.
Mr Museveni noted that he was once a born again but later fell out because of “dangerous lies” spread by pastors in the born again church.
“I was a Mulokole [born again Christian] but somehow I disagreed with them in 1965. There were a number of issues but one of them was the dangerous lies my Baloke [born again] were preaching. They said human beings are visitors on earth and that our permanent homes are in heaven, they say things here on earth rust and they are eaten by cockroaches,” Mr Museveni said.
Museveni said that the insinuation he picked from their preaching was that people on earth should not bother to work but only wait for the wealth in heaven. The president revealed such teaching gave him a second thoughts about Balokole, prompting him to quit.
“I said no, this is now dangerous,’’ Museveni said yesterday in Gulu while presiding a thanks giving prayers for LCI and LC2 Chairpersons from the Acholi region at Kaunda Grounds in Gulu town.
‘‘When my father Amos Kaguta died a few years ago, many of you came to bury him, the man had been here on earth for 97 years. How can one be a 97 years, not working but waiting for wealth on heaven,” Museveni wondered.
His statement followed a testimony made by Rev Fr Mathew Okun Lagoro from the Gulu Arch Diocese who told the president that Operation Wealth Creation [OWC] programme had greatly helped in alleviating poverty in the region.
“I am happy that the religious people are now getting serious with wealth creation, even Jesus worked in the carpentry workshop of his father himself, he fed the hungry, healed the sick and preached the gospel, those are the four pillars. I am happy that the religious people now understand the issues of wealth here on earth as we wait for heavenly wealth,” Mr Museveni said.
The president warned Christians against believing in miracle wealth saying such doesn’t happen minus hard work. He advised locals to adapt to new farming methods to improve output for an improved livelihoods.
Ms Grace Oleyowiya, one of the National Resistance Movement Party members who spoke on behalf of the Local Council Chairpersons in the region reminded the president of unfulfilled promises to compensate war victims in Acholi.
According to Ms Oleyowiya, more than 6,800 survivors of the vicious war in northern Uganda have not been compensated to date despite government promises to compensate victims.
More than 23,000 people who lost their animals and properties during insurgencies in northern Uganda under their umbrella Acholi War Debt Claimants dragged government to court in 2007 seeking for compensation amounting to Shs 1.4 trillion.
They however later opted for an out of court settlement in 2007 and since then the government has only paid Shs 7.05 billion to about 17,000 people.
Mr Museveni in his government is committed to paying the war debt claimants but pointed out that the focus of government is on infrastructure.
President Museveni also commissioned a seed factory for Equator Seeds Limited at Koro Abili in Koro Sub-county, Omoro District.