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A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*
5:00 P.M. ET Oct. 4, 2011
| NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
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A United Methodist district superintendent and a mission intern with
the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries are to appear in court
Oct. 7 after their arrests by Ugandan police.
The arrests are related to a complaint by United Methodist Bishop
Daniel Wandabula of the East Africa Annual (regional) Conference about
an anonymous blackmail attempt and emails circulated about alleged
corruption. Besides Uganda, the East Africa Conference includes the
countries of Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.
Joseph Kanyike, the 25-year-old mission intern, was preparing to
depart for his first assignment at the World Student Christian
Federation offices in Geneva, when he was arrested Sept. 18.
The Rev. John Kiviiri, a district superintendent from Makono, told
United Methodist News Service that he had been trying to assist Kanyike
when he was arrested Sept. 23. Both were charged with “cyber crimes,”
Kiviiri said. Both men deny any wrongdoing.
Kiviiri said he was released Sept. 27 after friends and church
members helped raise the US$800 needed for bail. Kanyike was released
on bail the next day but later was admitted to a hospital. He said he
had been beaten by police.
'Seeking clarity' about arrest
Thomas Kemper, top executive of the Board of Global Ministries, said
agency staff “have been actively seeking clarity” about the arrest of
their mission intern.
“We have also hired a lawyer in order to give legal support and to
find out the accuracy of the charges against him,” he said. “We are
very relieved that Joseph was released on bail last week and hope that
the case can be resolved as soon as possible. Our prayers and support
are with Joseph during this time.”
Bishops Larry Goodpaster and Rosemarie Wenner, president and
president-designate, respectively, of the United Methodist Council of
Bishops, sent an email to Wandabula on Sept. 26 inquiring about the
arrests and urging him “to do everything you can to obtain the release
of these colleagues in ministry.”
The Rev. John Kiviiri. Photo courtesy of the East Africa Annual (regional) Conference.
View in Photo Gallery
In his reply to Goodpaster, Wandabula said he had been “greatly
troubled” by the situation, which he called “a police matter.” He wrote
that he had nothing to do with the arrest and detention of either man
“beyond the case I reported.”
Wandabula’s complaint to the Ugandan police dates back to Oct. 21,
2009, when someone using a pseudonym – Journey Jonah – sent an email to
the bishop demanding $300,000. Attached to the email was a Microsoft
Word document, labeled “report,” which contained a number of
allegations against the bishop.
“When I read that letter…I felt bad,” Wandabula told UMNS. “I
thought maybe that person was joking, and I never responded to the
email.”
Another email arrived five days later, reminding Wandabula of “the
ultimatum” deadline. A third email, dated Oct. 31, noted the bishop’s
failure to cooperate and said the report would be sent to various
church organizations.
Wandabula said he received a forwarded copy of the report with the
allegations against him while attending a meeting of the United
Methodist Council of Bishops and discussed the situation with several of
his colleagues. “Before I reported the matter to the (Ugandan) police,
I wrote a letter to my fellow bishops,” he said.
New investigation
In 2010, the bishop became aware that the report still was being
circulated. “When I realized the person was continuing sending these
emails, I went to ask the police how far they had gone with their
investigations,” he said.
The file on his complaint had been closed but was reopened and
assigned to staff in the police force’s Information and Communication
Technology area, Wandabula said.
Meanwhile, on Aug. 30, 2011, the anonymous “Journey Jonah” sent a
second report with further allegations against Wandabula to the Council
of Bishops and several executives at the Board of Global Ministries,
but did not supply documentation or a name and full contact
information.
The bishop said he eventually was advised by the Information and
Communication Technology police that Kanyike would be arrested.
Speaking by phone from Uganda, Kiviiri said that after Kanyike was
arrested, the police force’s Criminal Investigation Directorate
searched Kanyike’s house in Kireka, a suburb of Kampala, taking his
computer, personal papers and money sent by the Board of Global
Ministries for his visa for Switzerland. Investigators also took
Kiviiri’s computer and some documents, Kiviiri said.
A few days later, Kiviiri received a call from CID staff, who wanted
to see him. “I knew by that they wanted to arrest me,” he said.
Kiviiri is a longtime pastor and one of the founders of the United
Methodist Church in Uganda in 1991. He said he remembers discussions
within the conference about the emailed report alleging mismanagement
of funds but said he was not aware of the extortion attempt in 2009 and
“was shocked” by his arrest.
Falling ill
Kanyike, who has served in various positions at the local and
district levels of the church, said he “was beaten seriously” while in
jail and also suffered from malaria and severe anemia. “Thank God I’m
still alive,” he added.
Kanyike’s official missionary biography on the board’s website
described him as “a Ugandan national and a member of the Namboole
United Methodist Church in Kampala, within the East Africa Annual
Conference. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychological
counseling from Kyambogo University in 2009. He has worked in several
nursery, primary and secondary schools and served the UMC in Uganda for
nine years.”
Wandabula said the police had denied beating Kanyike but added that
he “felt so bad” when he learned Kanyike was in the hospital. “I’m
praying for him and wish him a quick recovery,” the bishop said.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service multimedia reporter based in New York. Follow her at on Twitter.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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