Frank Gashumba has intensified his public confrontation with Ugandan evangelical pastors, declaring that he would turn to Catholic clergy for prayers if he ever needed divine intervention, while defending his controversial Shs500 million wager challenging claims of miraculous healing.
The outspoken sociopolitical commentator and media personality said on Monday that he considers one Catholic priest more valuable than 1,000 pastors, arguing that his criticism targets religious leaders he accuses of exploiting vulnerable believers through false promises of miracles.
Gashumba has come under fire from several prominent Ugandan pastors since challenging self-proclaimed miracle workers to demonstrate their healing powers, offering a financial wager that has since risen from Shs200 million to Shs500 million.
Several pastors have accused him of mocking Christianity, but none has accepted the challenge, according to Gashumba.He insisted on Monday that he had never questioned the existence of God or the power of Jesus Christ, maintaining that his objection was to religious figures who allegedly use Christianity to deceive and financially exploit poor people.
“First, I have never said that God does not exist or that Jesus does not work. I simply condemned these fake prophets, pastors and apostles who successfully use the name of Jesus to rob the poor,” he said.
“They say they perform miracles, can cure cancer and HIV. I said I am wagering Shs200 million. Let’s go to Nsambya or Rubaga or Mulago and they heal the sick. I raised it to Shs500 million but no one has collected it.”
The dispute has also prompted Gashumba to accuse some pastors of deliberately twisting his remarks to suggest that he was challenging God rather than questioning claims made by religious leaders.
In an interview, he alleged that some pastors had gone beyond criticism and issued threats and predictions of misfortune against him and his family following his comments.
“One of them said they have given me one year and I will be flattened like a chapati. Another female pastor said my family will suffer misfortune until I need a pastor to pray for me,” he said.
Gashumba dismissed the warnings, saying he would not seek the intervention of evangelical pastors even if he fell ill and required prayers. Instead, he said, he would turn to Catholic clergy, citing his personal religious affiliation and relationships with members of the Church hierarchy.
“First of all I will never bother to call for a pastor to pray for me. If I ever fall sick and need prayer, Catholic fathers are there and I have some bishop friends. I am 100 per cent a Catholic,” he said.
He followed the remarks with a pointed comparison between Catholic priests and evangelical pastors, further escalating a dispute that has attracted attention across Uganda’s religious community.
“Besides, one father is better than 1,000 pastors. One reverend-father’s prayer is better than 1,000 pastors,” Gashumba said.
He defended his preference by pointing to the formal education and lengthy preparation required before Catholic priests are ordained, arguing that the process distinguishes the clergy from religious figures whose qualifications and practices he questions.
“You do not simply become a Catholic priest. You have to get a degree and have to go another four to six years to become a priest,” he said.
Gashumba contrasted that training with what he described as the rapid emergence of some self-proclaimed religious leaders in Uganda’s born-again churches, where he believes standards for establishing ministries and claiming miraculous powers are inadequate.
