According to Fr Josephat Ddungu, the chaplain of Makerere University's St Augustine chapel, "God's grace is real and He can give it to anyone", but what the likes of Mukajanga fail to do, is to follow church rules.
"Every diocese has one official exorcist. Ordained priests, too, can have the anointing powers. But if a lay person feels they have such powers, they should approach the authorities and get authorization," Ddungu says.
Fr Ddungu's argument raises the question of whether someone needs authority to cast out demons in God's name. Msgr Charles Kasibante, the vicar general of Kampala archdiocese, says people should understand the difference between exorcism and deliverance.
If it is exorcism, it is only the bishop who can authorize someone and in Kampala, only Msgr Expedito Magembe, Fr Dominic Mwebe and Fr Atanansi Musajjaakaawa have that authorisation.
"For what is happening among some people, I doubt whether it is exorcism. If it is simple cases of praying for someone and the ailment goes, that is deliverance and we have no problem with that," Msgr Kasibante says.
Pastor Rebecca Namutebi, a board member of the National Fellowship for Born-Again Pentecostal Churches-Uganda, says no one should be limited from casting out demons; "People resort to God because they are overburdened".
She, however, agrees with Ddungu that caution should be exercised, not to suppress or oppress anyone but, rather, to save the unsuspecting laity of fake prophets and cults.
"We should be very careful with lay people. These policies in church come about with precedence," Ddungu argues. "You have heard of people who say they have seen the Virgin Mary; but the Church always goes slowly on them, because we want to protect our people."
allAfrica.com: Uganda: Why Church Must Give Consent for Exorcism
See also:
Uganda: New Religious Cult Worries Masaka Leaders
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