A self proclaimed pastor in Rukungiri district, identified as Bosco Mubangizi Kahigyi of Jerusalem Church is in hot soup after being accused of impregnating a member of his church and later forcing her to terminate the pregnancy.
The incident came to limelight after the celebrated pastor, accompanied by his wife Elizabeth Kahigyi, a police officer attached to Rukungiri central police station, and a friend identified as Lilian Manige, reportedly brought the girl back to her parents home in Buyanja on December 26, 2024 with her household belongings from Ntungamo district.
The victim’s father Enock Muronda , a resident of Rweere cell, Nyakabungo parish in Buyanja Sub-county, accuse the pastor of exploiting her daughter (names withheld) whom she had promised to educate.
According to Muronda, the pastor first contacted his daughter 5 years ago during a radio prayer session after she requested for a Bible.
Following this request, Pastor Kahigyi gave her a Bible and began involving her in church activities including conferences in Kisoro, Ntungamo, Kampala, and other places.
Muronda further stated that the pastor eventually convinced her to move out of their house with a promise that he would sponsor her education, a proposal that the victim accepted.
The victim’s father revealed that after a while, he started receiving complaints from the pastor’s wife that his daughter had started sleeping with the senior pastor which he initially doubted.
He however said, his daughter later told him about health complications she had begun to notice in her life but remained optimistic that the pastor would own his responsibilities.
On her part, the victim speaking to our reporter at Rukungiri central Police Station, where she and her father had gone to record statements, revealed that Pastor Kahigyi lured her into sexual relationship using his promise of paying school tuition as a leverage.
She claimed that the pastor rented for her different rooms in the districts of Rukungiri, Kanungu (Kihihi), and Ntungamo, while concealing his unholy actions.
The victim further stated that she now feels abdominal pain which she attributes to repeated abortions triggered by the pastor.
The tearful girl disclosed to our reporter that Kahigyi advised her to use family planning methods, which she suspects to have caused her more health complications, including fibroids that prompted her to undergo a surgery at Kambuga Hospital in Kanungu District.
Even after the operation, the victim said the pastor continued having sex with her which resulted in another pregnancy that never went down well with the purported man of God.
He allegedly forced her to terminate pregnancy from another health facility further worsening already deteriorating situation.
Efforts to obtain a comment from Pastor Kahigyi were unsuccessful as he declined to speak to the media.
Rweere LC1 Chairperson Boaz Kotunga also could not provide a comment as he was at a noisy event by the time of compiling this story.
Pastor Kahigyi is the founder of Jerusalem Church, which has branches in Rukungiri, Kanungu, and Ntungamo districts. Police investigations into the matter are ongoing.
A case of human trafficking has now been registered at Rukungiri Central Police Station under file number CD 32/26/024.
