Entebbe municipal officials on Friday swung into action and ordered for the immediate closure of ‘Living Word Assembly Church’ located at Chadwick close, Namate, Entebbe municipality. Officials led by the deputy Town Clerk Mr. Dan Lutaya, delivered a letter to the church premises intending to stop further activities done at the church.
According to the municipal officials, the church which is located just opposite Innophine hotel, generates a lot of noise during the overnight prayers. “Refer to various correspondences querying the manner full of controversies in which you have established a church in the vicinity of Innophine Hotel to the detriment of its business and the quiet life of Residents in that area,” the letter reads in part. The letter continues, “The implication of this order is that any usage of the above building for whatever purpose is barred till a fresh permit is issued by the Town Clerk.”
According to Mr. Lutaya, the hotel facility owned by Tycoon Emmanuel Kagera also Anderita Beach Boss is losing colossal sums of money because of the noise mainly from non gazetted bars and some Pentecostal churches. “A very big number of UN residents vacated Entebbe in preference to Lubowa estates at Namulanda, just because our town was becoming noisier every day,” Mr. Lutaya further stated.
Apart from the gate person, no church official was found at the premises, at the time of delivering the letter stopping further activities. Calls to the branch phone numbers went unanswered by press time. According to their website, ‘Living Word Assembly Churches’ are headed by a Nigerian Pastor Benjamin Nebechukwa and his wife Rev. (Mrs.) Charity Ngozi. They are spread across different parts of Uganda including Entebbe, Bweyogerere, Kampala Central, and Fort Portal among others.
The development came at a time when Wakiso RDC Eng. Ian Kyeyune called upon the IGP Kaihura to regulate on the way Pentecostal churches carry out their praise and worship in the wee hours of the night. Speaking during a security meeting on Thursday at kasenyi landing site, Katabi Town council, Wakiso RDC pointed out what he termed as noise from Pentecostal churches as a hindrance to managing security in the area. “Even if someone is screeming out for help at night, no rescuer can hear when there is a Pentecostal night prayer going on,” noted Mr. kyeyune.
