Only 15 years ago, the world had written Uganda off
as a hopeless case. The results of Idi Amin's plundering, his successor
Milton Obote's reign of violence, and the brutal civil war of 1980-85 were
an economy on the edge of collapse, the country bleeding from a thousand
wounds, with inflation a rampaging 380% to 1000%. Tourism was threatened,
and the Western embassies withdrew one after the other. Then came AIDS.
|
The world had no hope
at all for Uganda.
|
WHO experts predicted that the nation would collapse in 1997, with one
third of the population dead, another third suffering, and the remaining
third too weak to maintain the economy. The government saw no way out,
so called church leaders together, admitting their predicament and asking
"Can you find a ray of hope in this situation?"
One man spoke a prophetic word into the midst of
this situation: "Whose report should we believe? The WHO experts', or God's
word? God has a good plan for our nation, and a holy purpose." Not many
listened to this voice, but those who did remained for prayer. The result
was a movement which has since taken hold of the whole nation, bringing
obvious change.
When the gospel arrived in Uganda in 1877, there
was both a radical breakthrough and a spiritual battle. The first 36 Ugandan
martyrs died at the hand of King Mwanga in 1886, but that did not hinder
what is now seen as the roots of the East African revival, which started
around 1920 in Uganda and Rwanda. In 1971, Moslem General Idi Amin took
over the government, starting an unprecedented and brutal persecution of
all opponents, particularly Christians. He declared Uganda to be an Islamic
state in 1975, despite the fact that only some 3% of the population were
Moslems. Amin invited Gaddafi and Saudi Arabia's King Faisal to the 4-day
ceremony, in which thousands of sheep and goats were ritually sacrificed.
The Christians reacted by fleeing and prayer, and formed jungle churches,
with 24-hour prayer. All differences between the confessions disappeared.
"Someone's exact creed was not important, as long as they could pray,"
Mulinde remembers. The return of peace after Amin's deposal in 1979 also
brought a reduction in Christians' devotion to prayer; complacency and
indifference set in. The church falsely believed Amin to have been the
enemy.
|
Nation-wide prayer and
fasting initiative!
|
After recognising the mistake, an increasing number
of Christians joined a nation-wide prayer and fasting initiative, with
two aims: to unite themselves under God's aims for the nation, and to disarm
the demonic powers behind their acute problems in prayer. The following
is a sample of the many events which have since taken place (full report
soon available on
www.dawn.ch):
-
New covenant with the living God
President Museveni repealed Amin's Islamic covenant, and gave the national
flag to a group of intercessors as a prophetic symbol during a conference,
re-dedicating the nation to the God of the Bible. That broke the dam.
-
Uncovering corruption
Mulinde challenged the President to take more action against the tide
of corruption in the nation. "We have our police and our system, but we
cannot change people's hearts. That is the job of the church," replied
Museveni. Together with the Christians, a public campaign for integrity
and morality was started, which has spread throughout the nation. Museveni
even appointed a Cabinet Minister for Ethics and Integrity, a born-again
Christian, who started an investigation into bribery. Her appointment was
sharply criticised by a number of Members of Parliament, and there have
already been two attempts on her life. However, as a result of the President's
backing and the prayers of many churches for the campaign, a growing number
of corrupt officials have fallen from grace, and several high-ranking politicians
have been forced to step down from office.
-
AIDS: values and condoms
|
The only nation in Africa
in which the AIDS rate is decreasing
|
The government and churches united in a dual strategy: condoms and moral
change through ethical renewal and a return to Biblical values - with phenomenal
success. Uganda is the only nation in Africa in which the AIDS rate is
decreasing, the dark predictions turned out to be false, and the WHO, facing
a mystery, is investigating "the Ugandan phenomenon".
-
Inflation under control
The inflation rate has dropped from 380% to between 6% and 8%. The
IMF and World Bank view Uganda as a prime example of economic recovery
in Africa.
-
New unity among Christians
God is drawing Christians of all confessions together to a new unity
- the Uganda Christian Alliance, according to Mulinde. UCA is a network
of ministries with the aim of "making disciples of the whole nation, and
serving other nations".