National transformation: what is God doing in Uganda?
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. 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. "Transformation is the change from
a historic low point, in which the nation is scarred by death and decay, to
the point at which the full life of Christ is incarnated," says American
strategy consultant Jack Dennison. That is exactly what seems to be happening in
Uganda.
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. After recognising the mistake, an increasing number of Christians joined
a nationwide 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 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".
Source: John Mulinde, World Trumpet Mission, e-mail
trumpet@starcom.co.ug
Note: the video "National Transformation - what God is doing in Uganda"
will be published in May 2001. It can be ordered in German or English from Ueli
Haldemann, fax +49-7745-5850, e-mail Uhaldemann@t-online.de
Uganda
