The State Minister for Ethics and Integrity in the office of the President, Rev Fr Simon Lokodo has announced that city pastor, Martin Ssempa, is suspended from the Pornography Control Committee (PCC) due to his failure to cooperate with other committee members.
PCC is established under Section 3 of the Anti-Pornography Bill which was passed by Parliament in 2014 and was inaugurated in 2017 with an intention of detecting and curtailing the circulation of pornographic material in the country.
The committee also raises public awareness about the dangers of pornography, as well as collecting and destroying pornographic materials and ensuring that perpetrators are apprehended.
Ssempa has been one of the nine members since its formation. Others are Dalton Opwonya, Sheik Mohammad Ali Waiswa, Joan Kyomugisha, Gastone Byamugisha, Hafisa Kabagonja, Victoria Sentamu and Fred Nyakori.
Now, In a letter dated December 18, 2018, announcing the pastor’s suspension, Lokodo says that other committee members denounced him for failing to cooperate with them.
It is alleged that Ssempa has shunned several meetings of the committee and this has negatively affected the operations of the committee.
The Minister says Ssempa was invited to defend himself on the allegations and did not turn up, but instead, he ran to court.
He also revealed that Ssempa was asked to defend himself but he decided to go to court and that he (Lokodo) awaits the decision of the committe.
“You may wish to recall that my letter to you requested you to reply within fourteen days on the allegations made in the two separate letters so that I may make my administrative decision on the way forward,” he adds in a letter.
Lokodo wrote to Ssempa that: “You did not reply but chose to escalate it to your lawyers to handle it for you.”
Our efforts to speak to Ssempa on the matter were futile as he could not receive our telephone calls.
Pastor Ssempa who is also founder of the Makerere Community Church, has been in the news lately, for accusing the musician turned politician, Bobi Wine, of politicising ‘Tuliyambala Engule’, a born again song for his political endeavours.
Also Read: Pastor Ssempa Criticizes Bobi Wine for Portraying Self as Jesus in New Song
He argues that turning the Christian song into a political one changes its meaning and misleads the believers.