The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Dr. Richard Butera has called on security agencies and Ugandans at large to get rid of immoral church leaders who have gone on rampage defiling underage girls in the country, calling them agents of Lucifer who are out there to soil the Christian faith.  

The DPP passed an order of arrest to the Catholic priest from Nebbi Dioceses, who recently defiled two underage girls and possibly infected them with HIV/Aids, to answer charges of defilement and intentionally infecting minors with HIV/Aids.

According to the Penal Code of Uganda, if found guilty, the priest could be sentenced to life imprisonment.

The DPP says that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Rev. Father Santos Constantino Wapokura and adds that much as the alleged offender is a "man of God", he stands responsible for his grave actions.

The DPP further sounded a warning that all religious leaders who break the law will not be spared if found guilty, and that the long arm of the law will catch up with them.

However, the DPP finds a problem with the church when it decides to conceal criminal acts by some of its leaders under the guise of not wanting to "shake the faith" of their followers.

He says that if victims are to receive justice and the offenders apprehended for their crimes, the church should always open up and volunteer information to help with investigations.

"Many church leaders have committed severe crimes but they've always been let off the hook due to lack of sufficient evidence. If the church could partner with the authorities to expose such offenders, then our work will become easier and justice will dully be served," he contends.

Silence killing church
The DPP maintains that covering up evidence is what is killing the Church, recalling the current scandal in the US when the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (before becoming Pope Benedict XVI)   covered up and exonerated priests who preyed on minors, with some cases dating back to the '70s.

"What the Pope covered up way back in the '70s is dogging him now, with millions of Catholic believers calling on him to apologise while others want him to resign," he adds.

Blame it on poverty?
Butera is disappointed that the powerful church leaders use their financial muscle and connections to the people who matter to wriggle their way out of prosecution and possible jail sentences.

He attributes this to poverty, arguing that much as justice is a right to all irrespective of socio-economic status, the poor have been denied their inherent right to access justice simply because they do not have the money with which to buy justice.

He continues that some errant church leaders would rather toss a few coins to the families of the victims to have the charges dropped, or to pre-empt the case from proceeding to court.

Butera, who is a staunch Christian, calls on Christians to work hard and elevate their lives out of the ashes of poverty so as they can be in position to resist bribes from the offending church leaders. He says that victims take this money out of despair since they would want assistance anyway.

"The offenders will tell the victims that they'll lose out if they [offenders] were jailed. And because the victims want help, they'll just accept handouts from the offenders and the case is closed," he asserts.  

Corrosive corruption
The problem is further compounded by corruption that is eating deep into the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) that comprises the Police and Judiciary and other law enforcement agencies.

The Judiciary has been named as one of the most corrupt institutions, and if the Church chooses to become equally corrupt by concealing information and evidence, according to Butera, then the country is headed for disaster.

"It's the role of the Church to reprove state institutions, but when we've church leaders keeping silent and colluding with law officers to kill evidence, then we're headed for dangerous times." Butera said.
 
Father Wapokura reportedly wanted the case to be settled out of court with the parents of the affected girls but the director of Criminal Investigations Department, Edward Ochom says the settlement cannot be accepted.

"A matter like this cannot be settled out of court. The priest should be left to the hook of the court," says Ochom.

Wapokura, 45, is accused of defiling a 14 year old girl who was serving in the church. He was arrested mid last month in Nebbi district but was released by area police saying that the matter could be settled out of court.

Angry reactions
Women and human rights activists have complained bitterly about his release which has led to new directives to re-arrest him. They argue that several such cases involving catholic priests have been taking place in Uganda at regular intervals.

According to Butera, five catholic priests have been involved in sex scandals over the last one year. One was caught in Masaka sleeping with two underage girls in a lodge.

But, somehow, such cases have been covered up by police and the church. Some Christians blame the Bishops for not being keen to ensure that all priests behave well.

"The bishops are wasting most of their time criticizing the president and government officials instead of dealing with church affairs. They have enough on their plates but instead they are getting involved in secular politics," says one Christian critic, Paul Mbedde.

Cases of rape and defilement by church leaders are a common spectre in Uganda, cutting across different denominations, with church leaders being named in immoral scandals.

The latest scandal has been in the Anglican Church where the consecration of Rev. Canon Bernard Bagaba as the new Bishop of Kinkinzi Diocese hit a snag with allegations that Bagaba fathered two children out of wedlock, a case the Reverend denied, accusing his rivals of being behind the smear campaign to tarnish his image so that he shouldn't become Bishop.

However, Bagaba was recently cleared of wrongdoing following a DNA test that proved he was not the father of the said children. blog comments powered by Disqus

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