The Pastor of House of Prayer International Ministries Aloysius Bugingo has announced prayers at the Mandela National Stadium locally known as Namboole. This is despite the stadium’s policy against crusaders and any other concerts.
It should be noted that this stadium is home to the national football team, the Uganda Cranes. However it spent a couple of years closed and undergoing renovations. It was officially reopened this year a couple of months ago after several scandals.
Following the reopening, it was announced that music concerts, political gatherings, church crusades and gatherings of any kind wouldn’t be permitted at the stadium in a bid to protect the grass. It should be noted that before such gatherings were a common thing there was a thing that contributed to the deterioration.
Netizens were however shocked to see Bugingo declaring to his followers that a national prayers crusade will be held there in October. The pastor said that these prayers Independence night Prayers will take place on the 4th of October.
He called upon his congregants to come in large numbers and fill up the stadium. Additionally Bugingo said that he had toured the stadium while he was going to rent it. He also congratulated the UPDF Engineering brigade for the job well done.
This however has angered a section of the Sports enthusiasts. This is due to the fact that local football clubs such as SC Villa and Kitara FC have been blocked from using the stadium which is primarily for football. This saw the State Minister of Sports Hon Peter Ogwang address the situation. He said that these congregants won’t use the indoor playing turf but rather the area around.
“I want to allay your fears and reecho my earlier stance that Namboole Stadium will not be used for any activity other than sports, at least not on our grass. However, Namboole has enough space within the precincts of the stadium, like the parking lots, which can be utilized by management to raise non-tax revenue,” said Peter Ogwang.
