Gulu Pastor Arrested Over Fraud

A renowned Gulu pastor has been arrested and detained by police on allegations of embezzling 104,000 US dollars, about 353,600,000 belonging to Favor of God Ministries, a faith based organization in Gulu.

Pastor Benjamin Oteka of the Gulu Faith Cathedral Center was arrested on Tuesday last week and moved to Police headquarters in Kampala for interrogation.

His arrest follows a 2013 case reported to police against him while still Director of Favor of God by his then wife Ms Carol Ward. Ward, an American national accused Oteka of swindling money meant for the organization.  Ms Ward is founder of Favor of God Ministries and currently is the Director of the Organisation.

Oteka and Ward had been married for nearly three years and where jointly overseeing the management of Favor of God Ministries which also runs a radio station in Gulu. However, early this year the duo ended their marriage sparking a bitter feud.

Aswa region police spokesperson Jimmy Patrick Okema told Acholi Times that Pastor Oteka was taken to the Anti-Corruption court in Kololo to answer charges against him.

Okema, however, said Oteka said is still being detained at a police station in Kampala which he did not disclose.

“This is not the first time Pastor Oteka is being arrested. Earlier this month he was detained for threatening Ms Ward but was released on bail, however after investigations against him [Oteka] were concluded, we received orders to arrest him,” Mr Okema said.

The police spokesman said Oteka will appear before the anti-corruption court in January.

Meanwhile pastors in Gulu have demanded that their arrested colleague should be released. The pastors under their National Fellowship of Born again state that there is no case against Oteka and that his former wife is simply revenging against him.

Pastor Janani Loum, the Chairperson of the National Fellowship of Born accused Ms Ward of having ‘‘ill-intentions’’ after her marriage to Oteka collapsed. The pastors say the American national ‘‘used’’ Oteka to solicit for funding for her organization.

“We pastors demand that Oteka should be released and placed under fair investigation. It is unfair that the case is surfacing at the moment when they parted ways in marriage,” the pastors said in a meeting on Tuesday last week.

A renowned Gulu pastor has been arrested and detained by police on allegations of embezzling 104,000 US dollars, about 353,600,000 belonging to Favor of God Ministries, a faith based organization in Gulu.

Pastor Benjamin Oteka of the Gulu Faith Cathedral Center was arrested on Tuesday last week and moved to Police headquarters in Kampala for interrogation.

His arrest follows a 2013 case reported to police against him while still Director of Favor of God by his then wife Ms Carol Ward. Ward, an American national accused Oteka of swindling money meant for the organization.  Ms Ward is founder of Favor of God Ministries and currently is the Director of the Organisation.

Oteka and Ward had been married for nearly three years and where jointly overseeing the management of Favor of God Ministries which also runs a radio station in Gulu. However, early this year the duo ended their marriage sparking a bitter feud.

Aswa region police spokesperson Jimmy Patrick Okema told Acholi Times that Pastor Oteka was taken to the Anti-Corruption court in Kololo to answer charges against him.

Okema, however, said Oteka said is still being detained at a police station in Kampala which he did not disclose.

“This is not the first time Pastor Oteka is being arrested. Earlier this month he was detained for threatening Ms Ward but was released on bail, however after investigations against him [Oteka] were concluded, we received orders to arrest him,” Mr Okema said.

The police spokesman said Oteka will appear before the anti-corruption court in January.

Meanwhile pastors in Gulu have demanded that their arrested colleague should be released. The pastors under their National Fellowship of Born again state that there is no case against Oteka and that his former wife is simply revenging against him.

Pastor Janani Loum, the Chairperson of the National Fellowship of Born accused Ms Ward of having ‘‘ill-intentions’’ after her marriage to Oteka collapsed. The pastors say the American national ‘‘used’’ Oteka to solicit for funding for her organization.

“We pastors demand that Oteka should be released and placed under fair investigation. It is unfair that the case is surfacing at the moment when they parted ways in marriage,” the pastors said in a meeting on Tuesday last week.