KAMPALA – When journalist turned Pastor Joseph Kabuleta announced his presidential bid two weeks ago, the assumption among many Ugandans was that he had the blessing of Zoe Fellowship Leader ‘Prophet’ Elvis Mbonye.
Followers of the flamboyant man of God enthusiastically backed him and started sharing his videos on their platforms.
But that presumption was fell apart when Mbonye’s oft-media spokesperson Simon Ssenyonga, in a video that went viral on social media, appeared to say that Kabuleta is a stray bird flying on his own.
“Anyone who comes and honors the prophet can win the presidency, including the incumbent,” Ssenyonga said, leaving many so-called Remnants confused.
“God is not with any of those candidates who have expressed interest in becoming president,” Ssenyonga said.
The controversial video also angered Christian theologians who found his elevation of Mbonye to a rank “higher than Elijah, all Bible prophets and Apostles” to be ridiculous and blasphemous.
Ssenyonga, who calls himself “son of Prophet Mbonye” is no stranger to controversy. Last year he said that he had been skipping classes at Law Development Centre (LDC) because “the God of Prophet Elvis” could make him pass without studying. He failed two of those papers.
Then he threw a lavish engagement party at which he proposed to his fiancée, UBC newscaster Sharon Kyomugisha, at a Cinema hall at Acacia Mall, and made big public donations to Mbonye’s ministry. However, his financial tap seems to have run dry after the subsequent bridal shower and ‘kuhingira’ which social media addicts claim were not as costly as reported and say that figures were doctored. His much anticipated grand wedding never materialized and we hear that the two love birds have since given up all hopes for one and are cohabiting.
Many of Mbonye’s followers, however, consider Ssenyonga’s position to be official because he speaks for the Prophet’s de-facto deputy, a hardliner woman called Lorna Katusiime, an economic planner at Bank of Uganda, who is also rumored to be the young lawyer’s financier.
And so Ssenyonga’s public denouncing of Kabuleta’s presidential aspirations was seen as the position of Pastor Mbonye and caused many ‘Remnants’ to pull down pictures of the outspoken former journalist from their profiles and stop sharing his videos on social media.