By Muhimbise George.
You are a Pastor and you have a wife. You are always travelling overseas preaching against evil and declaring holiness. Your wife is in charge of the family and the church. Your children are looking good, eating on time, studying well, smart, clean, disciplined etc. Your farm looks well. Even at church, all is well, your wife is a role model to other people both in the church and outside, when she stands to speak even people from other churches listen. Because of her, your family commands respect.
Somehow, you hear a rumor from some choir members that your wife got some money from some Pastors association where she represented you but you suspect she could have slept with your rival pastor before getting this money. You get angry and irritated because this is illegal, immoral and a sin. How could a wife to a Pastor like me be engaged in such? She must have slept with him! You can’t believe that your wife did what you have been preaching against!
Then you summon your wife and church elders, and ask whether she got money. Your wife confesses, she however says she didn’t sleep with your rival Pastor. She tells you that she was lacking school fees, and each Pastor who attended the meeting got a share
You get angry, and the next day you call a church meeting and all the church neighbors are invited and declare your wife a prostitute who slept with another man to get money. You even say that some of your daughters could also be prostitutes but you are still investigating. You give her a day to pack and leave, because you can’t tolerate such.
Your wife refuses to go, her resolve to stay is as much as your resolve to chase her away. She also tells the public that you also have been having an affair with church girls and so you have no moral authority to chase her. Actually she says the reason you are getting rid of her is because she has been talking against your own dirty things.
Before you know it, the law doesn’t allow you to chase her, she is a signatory to the church accounts, the land title is in her name. You realize the church elders and committee members are supporting her. All you have on your side are choir members who do not know a verse in the bible, except shouting!You realize that many in the church are against your methods of work, but they opted to keep quiet, but now that you are going for their own, they are saying enough is enough.
Now your church is in chaos, all the neighbor’s and competitors are laughing at you while sympathizing with your wife and condemning you, some are thinking of breaking away to form another church. Some people are wondering why they should even pray in such a church where the Pastor’s wife and children are prostitutes? Others are questioning your leadership skills etc.!
The enemies have jumped on it and taken advantage, they are telling the public how your church is a scam, how you can’t manage a bigger congregation. You wanted to be a Bishop bringing together all churches in the territory but how can you lead other 50 churches when you can’t lead your own?
Who benefits? Who loses?
This is exactly what is happening to the NUP in regards to Mpuuga’s issue. Challenges will always come, but how you manage them is what makes a difference. This saga will leave NUP weaker than it was. Its image is dented, its credibility doubted, its leadership divided and all this works for Gen. Museveni!
Muhimbise George
Political analyst, 0787836515
