Woman commits suicide in Church over unpaid debt

Ibanda, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Gunfire rocked Ibanda municipality on Wednesday evening when police fired in the air and used teargas to disperse a group of agitated Christians attempting to vandalize Depths Ministries Church Kafunjo cell, Bufunda Division.

The demonstration followed the death of Scovia Akankunda, who reportedly took her own life within the church belonging to Pastor Daniel Bukenya, protesting the nonpayment of the money she lent the pastor.

According to Colman Mulonde, the LC I Chairperson of Kafunjo cell, the deceased had been requesting the return of Shillings 16 million that she gave Pastor Bukenya in July, with a promise of paying back within two months.

Mulonde explained that Akankunda had been a regular attendee of prayers at Depths Ministries and decided to commit suicide by taking poison when the pastor declined to pay her money.

The protesters demanded that the authorities take action against the church for causing noise pollution and address the allegations raised against Pastor Bukenya.

Emily Musiimenta, a vendor at Ssaza Market, claimed that Pastor Bukenya had been persuading women in the market to provide him with money for prayer services, promising to remove curses and protect their businesses from harmful influences.

Despite their intentions to destroy the church, the demonstrators were stopped by the police, who used live bullets and teargas to disperse them.

Samson Kasasira, the Rwizi Region Police spokesperson, told URN that they are actively searching for Pastor Bukenya as investigations into the matter continue.

He says that the deceased’s body is lying at Ruhoko Health Center IV pending postmortem examination to verify the claims that Akankunda ended her life using poison.

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URN