The past few weeks have put pastors in the spotlight over claims that some are manipulating the gospel to enrich themselves. Critics claim to have lost relatives after pastors promised healing and the sick abandoned their medication.
Pastor Martin Ssempa, the founder of Makerere Community Church, believes the public anger reflects growing frustration with ministries that allegedly promise financial breakthroughs and miraculous healing while demanding money from vulnerable believers.
‘What is happening is that we are seeing a riot. We are seeing members of the public who are being robbed of their money, speaking out,’ Ssempa notes.
He wonders whether some ministries have allowed the pursuit of money to overshadow the spiritual responsibilities they claim to uphold.
Bishop Sheldon Fred Mwesigwa, the Bishop of Ankole, adds another dimension to the debate, warning against exaggerated claims of miraculous healing that can lead believers to abandon medical treatment.
When faith comes at a price
For many Ugandans, the church is where they turn when life becomes difficult. Whether confronting illness, unemployment, family problems or financial hardship, believers often look to pastors for hope and direction.
That trust gives religious leaders considerable influence over their followers, particularly those desperate for a breakthrough. Ssempa argues that what is being challenged here is an ideology rather than attacking Christianity itself. He points out the contradiction between preaching a gospel of grace and suggesting that access to prayer or miracles depends on how much money a believer can give.
‘Where is the grace if only those with money can be prayed for and receive a miracle?’ he wonders.
He notes that religious giving, which should support ministry and community life, can become problematic when linked to promises of supernatural financial returns. Ssempa says he raised these concerns about 20 years ago, when he presented evidence to then Minister of Ethics and Integrity Tim Lwanga about pastors he believed were deceiving members of their communities. He said some people were promised that their money would be doubled or tripled after handing it over to religious leaders. The money, he recalled, was sometimes intended for rent, school fees or construction. One case has remained particularly painful for him. Ssempa recalls a woman whose husband had sent money from abroad to help her build a house. She allegedly gave the money to a pastor who promised to multiply it. The promised miracle never materialised. According to Ssempa, the woman fell into severe distress and later died by suicide.
Interventions
Unlike an ordinary financial transaction, such giving may be driven by the belief that questioning a pastor or doubting a promise amounts to a lack of faith. That is why financial transparency matters. Believers should be able to ask how their contributions are used without being made to feel that they are challenging God. Ssempa fears the resistance to scrutiny could intensify as public criticism grows. He warned of possible intimidation, fabricated documents, bribery and other attempts to obstruct accountability. These, he stresses are his concerns, rather than established findings against the wider church. He believes establishing a code of conduct for born-again pastors, covering training, professional responsibilities, disciplinary procedures and mechanisms through which complaints can be investigated, will protect believers from being taken advantage of.
The danger behind healing claims
While Ssempa focuses on money, Mwesigwa is concerned about the consequences when claims of miraculous healing influence medical decisions. The bishop does not dismiss miracles. Rather, he argues that they should not be presented as routine outcomes that believers can expect simply by attending a service or receiving prayer.
‘Miracles are not commonplace,’ he says, noting that even during Jesus’ time, not everyone who was sick was healed.
His concerns are informed by pastoral experiences, including a recent visit to the Kashari region, where a woman who had become a Christian disclosed that she had stopped taking her antiretroviral drugs because she believed she had been healed. Mwesigwa says his team encouraged her to resume treatment while maintaining her Christian faith. For people living with HIV, stopping antiretroviral treatment without medical guidance can endanger their health. Mwesigwa also reveals that there are people in Greater Ankole who have lived with HIV for more than 20 years while remaining healthy, active in their communities and committed to preaching the gospel. Their experiences, he says, demonstrate that living with HIV is not incompatible with being a Christian.
‘This woman developed symptoms after contracting HIV, became seriously ill and later regained her health, after she believed she had received a miracle. She then lived for about two decades without antiretroviral medication and wrote a book about her experience. But at an HIV awareness event at Mbarara University in May this year, she told me the virus had been detected again after her symptoms returned. She has since resumed treatment.’
The experience, Mwesigwa argues, demonstrates why personal testimonies should not be treated as conclusive medical evidence. A person may sincerely believe they have been healed, but feeling healthy does not establish that disease has disappeared from the body. Medical testing and professional advice remain essential.
Faith and medicine can coexist
Mwesigwa maintains that believers can pray for healing, testify about their faith and still seek treatment from medical professionals. Drawing on Matthew 9:12, in which Jesus speaks of the sick needing a physician, he argues that dismissing medical treatment as lack of faith reflects a failure to understand Scripture. This is particularly important when religious leaders make claims that influence followers living with serious or chronic illnesses. A person who believes they must prove their faith by abandoning medication may face consequences extending far beyond the pulpit.
At the same time, not every pastor or Christian who believes in miraculous healing should automatically be accused of deception. The crucial distinction is between personal faith and claims presented as guaranteed outcomes, especially when those claims affect other people’s health or finances.
Churches continue to provide spiritual guidance, counselling, fellowship and practical support to communities. Allegations against particular individuals should not be used to condemn the entire Christian community. Equally, religious authority should not place anyone beyond scrutiny. For Ssempa, the way forward includes clear standards for pastoral conduct, transparent financial practices and disciplinary mechanisms capable of addressing complaints.
Mwesigwa’s position adds the need for responsible communication about healing and respect for medical treatment.
Believers, too, must be able to ask questions, share experiences and make informed decisions without being silenced by appeals to faith. Ssempa urges Christians to pray, read their Bibles and refuse to be silenced. His appeal is not for believers to abandon the church, but to reclaim its purpose.