Former Kawempe South MP Mubarak Munyagwa has criticised pastors who have attacked social commentator Frank Gashumba over his challenge to born-again Christians, arguing that religious leaders should demonstrate their claimed miracles instead of responding with insults.
Gashumba recently challenged born-again pastors to prove their healing abilities by performing a miracle on a sick person. He initially offered Shs 200 million before increasing the proposed reward to Shs 500 million.
The challenge has drawn criticism from some religious leaders and believers, sparking a public debate over claims of miraculous healing and how faith leaders should respond to scepticism.
Munyagwa believes the pastors’ reaction has played into Gashumba’s hands. Rather than exchanging verbal attacks, he argues, religious leaders should respond by demonstrating the spiritual powers they say they possess.
“Just show him the miracles you speak of. You can pick one pastor out of you that you think is more holy and come back and resurrect someone who died long ago like Idi Amin or Philly Lutaaya,” Munyagwa said.
The former legislator also referred to biblical accounts of Jesus performing miracles, arguing that religious leaders should not allow provocation to distract them from demonstrating what they preach.
He went further by proposing a public event at Namboole Stadium, where selected pastors would be challenged to demonstrate their claimed ability to raise the dead.
“Let’s just get three of your best pastors and we converge at Namboole and we bring three dead people and you bring them back to life and we close that chapter,” he added.
Munyagwa’s proposal raises the stakes in a debate that began with Gashumba’s challenge over miraculous healing but has since drawn wider attention to the claims made by some religious leaders.
His comments frame the controversy as a question of demonstration rather than verbal confrontation, suggesting that pastors who believe in their spiritual abilities should respond directly to the challenge.
However, the proposed Namboole gathering remains Munyagwa’s suggestion. The supplied account does not indicate that an event has been organised or that any pastors have agreed to participate.
The dispute continues to fuel public discussion about religious authority, miracle claims and the growing tension between Gashumba and sections of Uganda’s born-again Christian community.