Witchcraft by any other name

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WHAT’S UP!

I have seen many shouting headlines in my life, but recently, things have been kind of tame (with apologies to Bukedde, of course). But then on Tuesday, I woke up to a screaming New Vision front page – ‘Police Probe Witchcraft in Churches’!! Say what? Witchcraft in churches? How do those two even go together in the same sentence?

According to Police, some pastors operate churches during the day, but turn the same churches into shrines at night and perform traditional rituals. That during these rituals, the so-called pastors extort money and wealth, promising ‘miracles and healing’, Police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma was quoted.

I am not very big on things of religion and faith, so you will forgive me if I am confused by all this. What comes to my mind when I hear the word ‘witchcraft’ is dubious smoky huts, low lighting, chants and invocations of all kinds of spirits to do the witch doctor’s bidding on behalf of ‘clients’.

But the article had nothing of these, instead it mentioned ‘charismatic televangelists’, ‘small-town church pastors’ and the use of ‘psychological manipulation’. It also spoke of ‘false prophecies’ and ‘staged miracles’; and the use of ‘sowing seeds’ by these modern witch doctors to extort money from believers.

Whoa, wait a minute. Say what? Because that just about describes almost every ‘modern’ church or pastor I know or have heard of. It seems to my layman’s mind that Pentecostals have just been described as practising witchcraft. By the Police, no less.

Witchcraft has always been a contentious issue among many people, with some arguing it was a term used by the colonialists to denigrate traditional beliefs and religions. It has been claimed that the Witchcraft Act of 1957 was enacted by the British to clamp down on resistance to colonial authority and to ensure the superiority of Christianity over traditional religions. It was subsequently declared void by the Constitutional Court in 1997.

Witchcraft has been defined as the ‘practice of magic for evil purposes’ (Merriam-Webster), and also as ‘communication with the devil’. I am not going into a philosophical debate about what constitutes magic or who exactly the devil is; but I can imagine if the Witchcraft Act had been in place when John Hanning Speke showed up at Kabaka Mutesa’s court in 1862, he probably would have been hanged for practising magic and communicating with the devil.

Back to these modern-day witch doctors, as described by Police. The New Vision article cites the case of a woman who had problems with her marriage, while at the same time taking care of her father who had cancer. A city pastor reportedly took sh40m from her to make it possible to reunite with her husband who was in Canada. Not only did that not happen, she lost the sh40m and she could no longer treat her father. That ‘pastor’, if we can take the Police at their word, is nothing but a witch doctor.

I am not sure where this is going, but almost every neighbourhood in Uganda has a church and most of them practice the ‘prosperity gospel’, where the faithful are promised wealth, health and happiness.

In these harsh economic times, the prospect of getting wealth and happiness is very attractive and these churches are active almost on a 24-hour basis. And they use concert like sound equipment to make sure everyone knows about them, not overly concerned by the fact they are breaking all kinds of laws by doing that.

One major practice in these churches is ‘sowing seeds’, just like that lady who wanted her husband back, and another who was promised a husband and a honeymoon in Europe, but ended up losing her car. Others have been asked to buy ‘holy water’, and yet others have paid exorbitant amounts for ‘holy food’, which was supposed to give them blessings and all they wanted. This is all witchcraft, by the new definition.

According to the article, the Uganda Human Rights Commission has stepped in and is investigating this new form of witchcraft. The commission’s chairperson was especially concerned about reports of manipulation, extortion and sexual abuse.

The President was also concerned by ‘fake miracles’ and healing, and directed that all those who claimed to have been cured by prayer should undergo medical tests to verify those claims.

An ‘anti-corruption’ pastor was quoted as saying that these modern-day witch doctors use psychological tricks to control the faithful. He said they instil ‘fear, pain and excitement’ to make the followers give up their worldly belongings.

So, where will the lines be drawn? Every week, thousands of Kampala’s desperate gather before pastors, prophets and apostles who promise ‘wealth, health and happiness’. These desperados are asked to ‘sow seeds’ in all kinds of ways, with promises of miracles to come their way.

But now, if that article is to be believed, the Police is going to be investigating these pastors, prophets and apostles. Because all that is actually witchcraft, and while the Witchcraft Act might have been declared void, there are still laws against fraud and fraudulent practices.

And someone please tell the Police spokesperson that this modern-day witchcraft does not take place only at night, it happens all day-long and is often on our televisions and radios, not to mention the millions of clips on the internet. It is witchcraft, by any other name.

You can follow Kabuye on X @KalungiKabuye