Solomon Male

Campaigns and prominent casework

Frances Adroa, an HIV / AIDS patient, in July 2005 was coerced to surrender her car to the leaders of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Kampala in return for promises to heal her of AIDS during the church's Mount Sinai Campaign. She was not cured. During deterioration of her health condition, she demanded back her car. The church leaders, Bishop Gilson Costa and Pastor Gerald Nkayi claimed 2 million Ugandan shillings (over US$1,200), allegedly for its repairs, which she did not have.

On 17 March 2007, she heard Pastor Male on the radio and later called him for an appointment to tell him how she had lost her car. When he confronted the church leaders, they eventually returned it in its damaged condition.

When Male publicised the car return in newspapers and other media in 2007, the leaders sued him and Adroa for defamation. The libel claim failed in 2010, and both sides were left to bear their own costs. Adroa had counterclaimed for repairs to the car, but this also failed, as the magistrate did not want to create a precedent for donors to ask for their gifts back if prayers were not fulfilled.

Solomon Male campaigns for greater financial accountability in churches. He says that the practice of giving land, cars or household goods to pastors in exchange for blessings, known as "sowing seeds of faith", is widespread in Uganda, and is generally not included in the churches' accounts. He reports that such donations are not even reported to boards or auditors, but are treated as the personal income of the pastors. Following up his report, the newspaper Sunday Vision checked the accounts of twelve Pentecostal churches, some of which were known for the practice; none declared any income from "sowing", and despite receiving billions of shillings, only Kampala Pentecostal Church and Redeemed Church had their accounts professionally audited.

Male sought a judicial investigation into the case of Susan Walusimbi, who was encouraged by a former pastor to enter into a relationship with a man whom the church claimed to have cured of AIDS. Walusimbi says the man later died of AIDS; she is now HIV positive herself, and using anti-retroviral drugs to stay healthy.

In 2009 Male was one of a group of pastors who received, counselled and supported young men who accused megachurch pastor Robert Kayanja of sodomising them. A police investigation cleared Kayanja, but Male insisted that the case was mishandled and urged the President to investigate the matter.

On 22 December 2010, Police arrested Pastor Moses Solomon Male and one of his lawyers, Henry Ddungu to allegedly make additional statements. After failing to secure sanctioning of the charges, they were released. They never made the purported additional statements.

On 3 October 2012, six people were fined sh1m each and ordered to do 100 hours of community service after being convicted of conspiring to destroy Pastor Robert Kayanja's name and profession. All six convictions are currently under appeal.

In 2013, he opposed the divorce and remarriage of Bishop David Kiganda, branding it to be contrary to Biblical teaching.

Responses from others

Responding to such allegations, Pentecostal pastor Bishop David Kiganda, Kampala district chairman of the National Fellowship of Born Again Churches, says that only a minority of Pentecostal pastors are involved in questionable activities. He and the National Fellowship ran a program called Operation Clean the House to exclude dishonest preachers from the denomination, and declared 15 of their fellow churches to be "cults."

The National Fellowship publicly disowned Male in 2006. He replied with an open letter denouncing their "patriarch" John Obiri Yeboah and other leading figures.

In 2009 a group of pastors from four Pentecostal groups denounced Male as an "accuser of brethren who speaks without authority".