A recent reported suggestion by the head of the Born Again Pentecostal Christians in the county to introduce compulsory vasectomy for all married men has come under stern criticism from followers and fellow pastors.
Pastor Joseph Serwadda, who is the Presiding Apostle of the Born Again Faith in Uganda and head of Victory Christian Center Church in Kampala, recently suggested that government should enact a law that mandates all married men to undergo compulsory vasectomy after their fourth child.
This, according to the pastor, is an invincible way of dealing with unplanned births which he says are a major hindrance to the country’s economic growth.
The suggestion is being described by critiques as ungodly, a betrayal and against the teachings of the bible.
On the 4child limit policy, I asked the President to consider VASECTOMY, as men are higher contributors to world population than women.
— Dr Joseph Serwadda (@JosephSerwadda) January 3, 2017
Pastor Aloysius Bugingo, a former minister at Serwadda’s church concluded that the end of the world was nearing, “now that people who should be guiding others are busy steering society to destruction.”
Bugingo says the proposal is a betrayal to the Interreligious Council Uganda (IRCU) where Serwadda is a senior leader; considering that the council has Muslim members who would never allow such an arrangement.
“You know that there are Muslims who marry four wives and expect at least four children from each,” he said. “This is an unending war that you would have opened against the Muslim community by passing such a law.”
Pastor Aloysius Bugingo says Vasectomy is against the teachings of the Bible
The law, Bugingo says, would cause a crisis in marriages and even women would not support it.
“This is the reason you had women pouring on the streets protesting against the law that sought to ban polygamy.”
According to the pastor, forced vasectomy goes against the teachings of the bible and creation.
He told his church members in Makerere, “How can you start cutting the wires (vas deferens tubes) as though are the one who wired them?
One Amos Katungi, a born again Christian who goes to Christian Life Church in Bwaise says it is “dangerous to advance such messages that don’t have biblical support.”
Vasectomy is a surgical process where a man’s vas deferens tubes are severed and then tied or sealed in a manner so as to prevent the release of sperm, thereby preventing fertilization.
It is one of the least popular family planning methods in Uganda, as according to experts, women still carry the primary responsibility for using contraception.
Although promoters of this method claim it is “extremely effective and has no side effects,” Pastor Bugingo warned his congregation to be very careful as it could cause a lot of life threatening conditions including prostate cancer.
He explained, “Those trapped cells (sperm) tend to become toxic in the long run and eventually join the blood stream, which goes all the way to the brain.”
Speaking to Chimpreports however, about the debate, Pastor Michael David Kyazze of the Omega Healing Center Church said while vasectomy might be harmless, it is “a journey to mars to an African man”
He noted however that there is no other way of controlling child bearing with fertile men around.
“Family planning by controlling women is futile. It is like driving a car in the back seat,” said Kyazze. “The men are the Bosses. The wife swallows the pill and the man picks a woman who has not swallowed.”
“The only way to control population explosion in African could be controlling men. The thought is shot down before it is in full flight because of our culture and religion.
Pastor Bugingo on the other hand supports neither of the existing artificial family planning methods and says married couples, just like animals must learn to control themselves.
“We see it from our domestic animals. They are not sex minded. You can never catch an adulterous animal. They all wait until the season of reproduction,” said Bugingo, himself a father of four, whose eldest daughter is a telecom engineer and the youngest a toddler.
Preaching during an overnight service, the pastor attacked the Joseph Serwadda, a father of 8, accusing him of teaching his followers to become murderers.
“Out of his 8 children, he should pick four and hand them over to be killed then,” Bugingo charged.
Bugingo proposes that married couples should be patient with each other and practice following the “safe days,” with help from their family doctors and health workers.
“Sex contributes only about 5% to the entire institution of marriage. If marriage was all about sex, prostitutes would be the greatest wives. Family pleasures can be retained as long as there is good communication between the man and wife.”
He added, “You have to show your wife that it is not just sex that you love about her. How can you lye that you love your partner when you cannot wait upon them?”