Uganda's president "dedicates the nation to God" and receives praise from evangelists

Last month, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni prayed for repentance during the nation's celebration of its 50th anniversary of independence from Britain and dedicated the country to God.

Among other things, the leader publicly asked for divine forgiveness of various sins of the Ugandan people, past and present. The nation's "New Vision" newspaper quoted Museveni's prayer in its entirety, which read in part:

We confess sins of idolatry and witchcraft which are rampant in our land. We confess sins of shedding innocent blood, sins of political hypocrisy, dishonesty, intrigue and betrayal.

Forgive us of sins of pride, tribalism and sectarianism; sins of laziness, indifference and irresponsibility; sins of corruption and bribery that have eroded our national resources; sins of sexual immorality, drunkenness and debauchery; sins of unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred and revenge; sins of injustice, oppression and exploitation; sins of rebellion, insubordination, strife and conflict.

These sins and many others have characterized our past leadership, especially the last 50 years of our history. Lord forgive us and give us a new beginning. Give us a heart to love you, to fear you and to seek you. Take away from us all the above sins.

We pray for national unity. Unite us as Ugandans and eliminate all forms of conflict, sectarianism and tribalism. Help us to see that we are all your children, children of the same Father. Help us to love and respect one another and to appreciate unity in diversity.

We pray for prosperity and transformation. Deliver us from ignorance, poverty and disease. As leaders, give us wisdom to help lead our people into political, social and economic transformation.

We want to dedicate this nation to you so that you will be our God and guide. We want Uganda to be known as a nation that fears God and as a nation whose foundations are firmly rooted in righteousness and justice to fulfill what the Bible says in Psalm 33:12: Blessed is the nation, whose God is the Lord. A people you have chosen as your own.

Various Christian pastors of the nation lauded the national prayer, according to New Vision.  In the United States, evangelist Scott Lively, who has been sued for crimes against humanity for his alleged role in contributing to the persecution of gays and lesbians in Uganda, told World Net Daily,"The Museveni prayer is a model for all Christian leaders in the world. The leaders of the West have declined in proportion to their degree of rejection of God."   Lively, the founder of Abiding Truth Ministries, is considering a run for governor of Massachusetts.

As a "Christmas gift" to the nation's Christians, the speaker of Uganda's parliament promised that a bill with tough prison sentences for homosexuality will be passed by the end of this year.  Lively told World Net Daily that "he didn’t agree with the death penalty provision (that is not contained in the 2012 bill) but supports the nation’s strong stance against homosexual behavior."

This is not the first time that Uganda has been "dedicated to God." As Talk2Action's Bruce Wilson has repeatedly reported over the years, Uganda has been influenced by an evangelizing effort called the International Transformation Network (ITM).  Back in January 2010, Wilson created a 20-minute mini-documentary on the New Apostolic Reformation's "transformation" of the country (embedded below) and wrote, in part:

The ITN is one of several global efforts, operating under the "transformation" brand, that are re-engineering along theocratic lines cities and even entire nations. For the Transformation movement, which claims homosexuals are possessed by demons and that prayer and faith healing have cured thousands of HIV and AIDS cases in the nation, Uganda is a prototype.

For over a year ITN representatives have been at work to setting up a training network spanning approximately 14,000 evangelical churches in Uganda, and ITN's head Africa representative states, as shown in the video, that the Transformation Network Uganda is "basically an ITN chapter." The International Transformation Network has active efforts underway across Africa but also in the United States, in Newark, New Jersey, Hawaii, Jacksonville, Florida, and elsewhere.

ITN representatives have enjoyed official state dinners hosted by Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni and his wife Janet Museveni, and video propagandists for the movement have enjoyed direct personal access to the Musevenis since the late 1990's.

Wilson's documentary reveals the shocking influence of American evangelists in creating a Christian theocracy in Uganda and how their efforts have influenced the nation's public health, marketplace and government, where tax collections and the military are subjected to Christian extremism.

Transforming Uganda / high resolution from Bruce Wilson on Vimeo.

D. Beeksma

One of the growing crowd of American "nones" herself, Deborah is a prolific writer who finds religion, spirituality and the impact of belief (and non-belief) on culture inspiring, fascinating and at times, disturbing. She hosts the God Discussion show and handles the site's technical work. Her education and background is in business, ecommerce and law.

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