By Aggrey Baba
The courtroom at Muwanga II Magistrate’s Court in Kampala was tense on Monday as 24-year-old Martin Kagolo, one of the accused in the ongoing case involving renowned preacher Pastor Robert Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Center Cathedral, narrated what he described as a painful and disturbing experience during his time of service at the church.
Kayanja, who is the complainant in the case, was notably absent but was represented by the State lawyer. All nine accused individuals were present in court except two, one of whom (Jamiru), arrived after proceedings had begun, explaining that he had faced mechanical issues due to a flat tire while travelling from Jinja on a motorcycle and was further delayed by traffic.
When called to testify, Kagolo, a young businessman who deals in clothes around Kampala and resides in Makindye, gave a detailed account of how he came to know Pastor Kayanja in 2016 when he was just 16 years old.
The young man explained that he was introduced to the pastor through his friend Reagan, who is also a co-accused in the case. Kagolo said their friendship grew stronger through football activities organized at the church, which gave him access to the pastor and church leadership.
According to his testimony, Kagolo began volunteering at the church as an usher, before being moved to the parking area and later into the church’s security department.
He said that at the age of 17, he underwent a brief security training program at Kabalye Training School which lasted for five months. Upon his return, he was reportedly handed both a firearm and a pistol to guard Pastor Kayanja’s personal office and vehicles.
This decision, he said, followed an incident in which an unidentified man breached church security and entered the pastor’s office with unknown intentions, and in response, Pastor Kayanja reportedly instructed the head of security to position Kagolo closer to his office.
The 24-year-old told court that this assignment brought him into even closer proximity with the pastor and significantly changed his position in the church.
While regular security members were being given UGX 7,000 daily for transport, Kagolo claimed that he began receiving an additional UGX 100,000 per week on top of that, which he would collect from a lady named Annet at the church reception.
In the following months, Kagolo said he was also deployed to guard Mrs,Teddy Naluswa Bugingo, the official wife of Pastor Aloysius Bugingo, after her separation from her husband. Along with Reagan, he was tasked with escorting her wherever she went.
In another assignment, Kagolo recalled being sent to protect three foreign guests, one of whom was a young boy with a mental condition, and during a trip around Kampala, the boy allegedly assaulted someone in Kireka, and Kagolo’s team was briefly detained but later released, reportedly upon Pastor Kayanja’s intervention.
His responsibilities expanded further when he was added to Pastor Kayanja’s convoy, enabling him to travel with the pastor on many of his public and private engagements. However, Kagolo told court that he later came to believe the pastor’s motive for drawing him closer was to take advantage of him sexually.
In a harrowing moment during his testimony, Kagolo told court that one day he received a phone call at around 2 a.m. from a colleague, Moses Makyati, summoning him urgently to Pastor Kayanja’s office.
At the time, Kagolo was residing in Bunamwaya in a house allegedly rented by the church. On arrival at the church, he found Pastor Kayanja, Ssebulime Hassan, and Makyati in the office. Kayanja asked one of them to offer him tea and, shortly after, both Ssebulime and Makyati stepped outside, leaving him alone with the pastor.
Kagolo said that Pastor Kayanja got up from his chair and began massaging him before allegedly touching his private parts. The pastor then left the room briefly and returned wearing a blue pair of shorts.
According to Kagolo, the pastor then told Makyati, who had returned to the office to return and “do what they always do.” Kagolo claimed that both Makyati and the pastor sexually assaulted (sodomized) him that night.
Because of the physical pain and emotional shock he said he experienced, he could not go back home and instead spent the remaining hours of the night on a sofa in the waiting area.
The next morning, Kagolo said he was given an envelope of money, although he did not disclose the amount. Later, another envelope was reportedly delivered to him by a man identified only as Mayambala (also a member of the church), who arrived in a black Toyota Prado with registration number UAB 007A, and also dropped him to Bunamwaya.
At around 3 p.m. that same day, he said Pastor Kayanja called him and promised more money, a car ( the same car that had been used to drop him), and even a trip abroad.
Following the incident, Kagolo testified that he stayed away from church for two weeks. However, he began receiving multiple phone calls urging him to return.
The case started in 2021 when several young men, including Kagolo, accused Pastor Kayanja of sodomizing them, and many people have followed the case closely.
Kagolo recounted how, in 2024, he was picked from his shop, by old Kampala police officers who delivered him to the same court, but this time as the accused, and that he and the other co-accused had provided false information to the same police where they had failed a case of sexual harassment, manipulation, among other charges, against the same pastor.
Today, Kagolo gave his full story in public, and his words touched many people who see this as a big issue facing the youth, especially those who trust and serve powerful people.
Court adjourned the hearing to Friday, May 9, when more witnesses are expected to testify.
But even as we wait for the next court date, more shocking details are set to unfold. In the next episode of this developing story, set for release tomorrow, we take you deeper into Kagolo’s account.
He says the abuse didn’t end that night. He was allegedly sodomized again on two more occasions. Later, together with other boys, he was thrown out of the house they had been staying in.
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When they demanded what they were owed, he says Pastor Kayanja refused to pay them, and instead used his power and influence to have them arrested and thrown into jail. Stay with us for Part Two, coming tomorrow.
