Born Again finally gets Inter Religious Council acceptance, Faith now recognized as a religious denomination

Born Again finally gets Inter Religious Council acceptance

Faith now recognized as a religious denomination

KAMPALA. The Born Again faith commonly known as Balokole have been accepted as  full  members of the Inter Religious Council of Uganda  after government  officially recognised the group  as one of the distinct faiths in the country .

This means that Born Again Faith (BAF) national leader, Pastor Joseph Sserwadda now becomes one of the council of presidents of IRCU.

Over the years, Born Again churches have been considered as NGOs and have been required to renew their registration with the National NGO Registration  Board annually.

Their admission to IRCU qualifies the Balolole to enjoy the same status like other religious denominations like Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, Protestants and Seventh Day Adventists. BAF first applied to become IRCU member in 2009 , but they  were given conditions to fulfill  first .One of the constitutional conditions for joining IRCU  is to belong as an observer while implementing several programmes  such as HIV/Aids ,good governance ,peace and reconciliation with them for at least three years.

BAF spokesperson ,Charles Tumwine yesterday described their   recognition by ICRU as a resounding achievement  since their  faith has suffered prejudices due to increasing cases of individuals who masquerade    as pastors.

“We express special thanks to the council of Presidents for deeming us worthy to become a member of the council. We are now a legitimate and officially recognised institutionalized faith body,” Tumwine told journalists at a  press conference in Kampala yesterday

Pastor Sserwadda said getting IRCU’s  acceptance gives them more credence and no one will be allowed to tag the title  “pastor” or start a church without BAF’s  clearance .

“ Many people have been masquerading   as pastors yet they don’t head any church . We are going to sieve them and genuine pastors will be getting a church permit from us,” he said

But Internal Affairs Ministry acting publicist Benjamin Katana said despite the Born Again being recognised as a faith the country, the law still empowers the board to regulate their operations.

“They (Born Again) can do their registration under their umbrella ,but it  is not tenable because they are not a government institution .What I know the  board will have to create a different mechanism in future  of registering churches not as  NGOs ,” he said by telephone

Born Again faith is one of the fastest growing branches of Christianity in the Uganda attracting mostly the youth and women and has overtaken some of the old faiths in numbers . BAF currently boasts of about 5000 registered churches across the country .In February ,2006, while attending a born again conference at Mandela Stadium Namboole ,President Museveni directed that Balokole be recognized like other faiths and their churches  cease to be registered as charities .

Islam was the first foreign religion to get acceptance in Uganda having been brought by an Arab trader Ahmed Bin Ibrahim in 1844,followed by Anglican missionaries  in 1877 and two years later ,French Catholic Fathers arrived .