Ordinand Muwulya Moses went through a very painful and life-changing ordeal that not only grew his faith but also led him to priesthood; the heart-rending death of his daughter. He then delved into journalism as a health reporter in a bid to teach people about health issues and dissuade them from treating conventional diseases in non-conventional ways (witchcraft). He shares with Vice Versa Global’s correspondent Martha Nalukenge about his daughter’s death and turning point to Christ.  

Primarily a teacher, 36-year-old Moses became a trained journalist focusing on health issues who worked with Daily Monitor, a leading Ugandan daily. Afterwards, he did communications with Kitovu Mobile, a medical and community empowerment organization. He left the latter to concentrate on the Ministry of God, a calling he admits wasn’t easy given the painful circumstances that led to it.

Moses’ calling to ministry stemmed from the painful experience of nursing his daughter, the late Nabuuma Claire Kisakye, who later succumbed to cancer. She had been diagnosed with retinoblastoma cancer, an eye cancer that begins in the retina. “From the day my baby saw the light of day, this disease troubled her, and would eventually take her life. Unfortunately at the time, we had no idea what ailment it was,” he confesses. In his quest to find out what could be the issue, he visited a couple of witchdoctor shrines to try and get to the root of the problem. He admits that he wasn’t a staunch believer in God at the time.

Divine Revelation

In one of the shrines, his elder daughter astounded them when she burst into a gospel worship song that scared the gods. Apparently, the gods came but they were vexed by it. That day marked the beginning of his turning point in life. The witch doctors gave them charms that didn’t work, they just made things worse. “When I called him to complain, he responded by telling me that the Sovereign Lord had not willed it!” he recalls. This was a loud statement both spiritually and mentally. In another shrine that he visited, he was moved by a young girl who was told to sip fresh blood oozing from a slaughtered goat.

The Diagnosis

Nabuuma Claire Kisakye was two and a half years old when she lost her sight. She was taken to Mengo Hospital, in Mengo where she was diagnosed with cancer from where they were advised to take her to Ruharo Health Center in Mbarara District. The doctors at the hospital suggested that she would have to undergo surgery to remove her eyes to avoid further spread of cancer to the brain. However, this wasn’t possible due to the fact that she was underweight at the time, so they had to postpone the operation to give her time to gain some weight. Sadly due to the delay, cancer spread to her spinal cord. She developed several convulsions that persisted until she took her last breath.

Turning Point

When his daughter died on 29/09/2015, he was told by a priest to accept Christ as his Lord and savior. He told him that their daughter, whom they loved dearly, had gone to be with the Lord. He added that it will be hard for them to see her again if they did not accept Jesus Christ in their lives. That was his ultimate turning point to turn to God whom he had come very close to after worrying for the life of his child. Two years later, he accepted Jesus after reading the scriptures and finding inner peace.

The guilt of visiting shrines that had been eating him up had vanished. He recalls the young girl in the shrine who sipped blood and wonders if she also got saved and got some peace of mind, which Jesus gives. Inspired by his past failures and ignorance about divine mercy, he made a resolution. He resolved to see people getting saved from the troubles of the world.

Making the bible his friend, he landed on Romans 10:1 which showed him that St Paul had the same wish. “The subsequent verses in this scripture reveal that my wish would not come true if I don’t preach the gospel.” He goes on to say, “No one would preach if they haven’t been sent, and they can’t be sent if they have not been called.” That’s when he embraced his calling of joining the ministry to preach the Word of God and have people saved. “I am happy that people have accepted Christ.”

While most people go through misfortunes that befall them Moses Muwulya did not only go through pain but grew through it. We pray the country promotes awareness among her people to deter them from treating conventional diseases in non-conventional ways (witchcraft). This will go a long way in demystifying the mystery of cancer which is widely assumed to be witchcraft.

To Nabuuma Claire Kisakye and all the other victims who have succumbed to this deadly disease, may your souls rest in peace.

BY MARTHA NALUKENGE