By Mulengera Reporters
Acting for and on behalf of fellow residents in the upscale neighborhood of Lubowa off Entebbe Road in Wakiso district, Wilson Sewanyana has instituted miscellaneous cause no. 369 of 2025 in which he seeks to prevent Ndeeba-based Victory Christian Centre Church founder and boss Apostle Dr. Joseph Sserwadda from going ahead to preside over regular open prayer crusade sessions at the 10 acres that recently was leased to him by the Indian owners initially for five years.
His demand is that the pastor gets compelled to ensure that mitigation measures are verifiably be put in place to ensure that no noise pollution, traffic congestion and encroachment onto neighbors’ property result.
Since raiding the area not very long ago, Sserwadda has vowed to not only convert this lease into freehold property so that his church ministry becomes the permanent owner of the land, but to also keep acquiring and buying out neighbours until the entire Lubowa neighborhood becomes his. There are online videos out there, clearly illustrating this fact.
Claiming to be divinely-inspired, Dr. Sserwadda has likened his coming to this Lubowa neighborhood to God’s inheritance promises to Abraham and Israelites conquering of the promised land of Canaan.
This aggressive behavior by the man of God has naturally attracted belligerent responses from the wealthy and powerful neighbors who have lived here, calling Lubowa their permanent abode, for decades. Many have lately been sleepless and denounced Dr. Sserwadda during physical and virtual meetings/discussions that continue to take place on the neighborhood watch WhatsApp groups and forums.
Sserwadda opted for this leafy Lubowa location as a venue to host of his Passover festival, which happens every 31st December annually, after the GoU, ostensibly having become uncomfortable with his controversial summons which some have construed to be support for the opposition, revoked the previous permission he had for decades to host the same end of year prayer gathering at Namboole-based Mandela National Stadium.
In a bid to stop the Passover festival for 2025, litigant Sewanyana acting on behalf of fellow residents, has since referred the matter to the Civil Division of the High Court seeking a permanent injunction preventing Sserwadda from holding such a large prayer gathering (bringing together not less than 100,000 worshippers) in an area that is gazetted for residential purposes.
Residents were concerned that as they pray to their God, seeing off the ending 2025 and ushering in 2026, Sserwadda’s congregation members would disrupt their sleep. They also had concerns relating to traffic congestion and criminals coming to their area since it’s well known that rogue-minded elements, pretending to be Christians, always take advantage of such large gatherings to wreck havoc. Residents were also concerned about potential dilapidation to the fragile public roads infrastructure in the area, given the strain that results from such a large number of people descending onto a place.
On Wednesday 30th December, Justice Simon Peter Kinobe, in the presence of the applicant Sewanyana’s lawyer Isaac Walukagga of MMAK Advocates and Juliet Nakato of NAN Advocates who represented and appeared for Dr. Serwadda’s Impact Media Consortium Uganda Ltd (which is the respondent party), proclaimed his order guiding on a win-win situation.
Under the win-win arrangement (because it was too late to call off the Passover festival which Sserwadda had taken months organizing), Justice Kinobe proclaimed five stringent conditions which Sserwadda has to observe and abide by while holding prayers at the Lubowa site. The convenor was required to observe the entire neighborhood’s sanitation, ensure effective traffic flow, ensure noise remains within NEMA-acceptable levels and to ensure safety to his neighbors’ property at all times.
Sserwadda, against whom the impacted area residents long petitioned the area local government authorities all the way to the Ssabagabo Municipal Council and Wakiso LC5 Chairman’s office, was also ordered by Court to ensure that all the structures that get constructed on the site are backed by the requisite statutory approvals by the concerned agencies of the GoU.
In his two page order, Justice Kinobe also implored and tipped Sewanyana and other affected residents to return to court and initiate contempt of court proceedings against Dr. Sserwadda should his church Ministry breach any of the conditions Court set out for him under the Wednesday 30th order. This will be applicable not just for the Passover festival but for any other subsequent open prayer crusades the renowned man of God will be holding at the same Lubowa venue on any future date.
Meanwhile, the other earlier suits as filed by Sewanyana (under Miscellaneous Applications 1126 of 2025, 1127 of 2025 and Miscellaneous Cause No. 369 of 2025) will continue with Dr. Sserwadda having to continue defending himself, through his Impact Media Consortium Uganda Ltd. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
