KAMPALA, Uganda — On Tuesday, Mwanga II Magistrate’s court, in Mengo – Kampala, heard explosive evidence in which a witness claimed he was placed at the centre of a structured recruitment network operating from a farm setting in Kiryandongo, where he was shown firearms, assigned duties involving the recruitment of boys from Bunyoro Sub-region, and later introduced to an American Muzungu said to have trained him in methods connected to sodomy operations.
The witness, Reagan Ssentongo (20), whose testimony forms part of a forensic report told the magistrate that upon arrival at the farm-based office in Kiryandongo, he was shown a cache of firearms, including eight rifles and six pistols, and informed that they were now under his control as part of his new role as the head of the farm, where he said Kayanja frequently visited and sodomized him, together with other boys working there and those he (Ssentongo) recruited.
He further claimed that he was instructed to treat the weapons and other materials (including the lubricants he allegedly found in the office) as tools tied to his responsibilities within what he described as an organized system.
20-year-old Ssentongo Reagan told court that he was subsequently tasked with recruiting young boys from the Bunyoro region and presenting them at the farm or other designated locations as instructed by Pastor Kayanja, to sexually entertain him or his vistors, alleging that he had been elevated to a regional coordination role within the arrangement.
According to his testimony, he was instructed to document and share updates through mobile messaging platforms including WhatsApp, Telegram, and Messenger, which he said were used to communicate instructions, reports, and pornographic images between individuals including Kayanja himself and another pastor called Rwomushana, who leads one of tje Miracle Centre Churches in Bunyoro Sub-region, allegedly involved in the sodomy network.
He further alleged that communication was maintained through WhatsApp and other messaging platforms, where he regularly sent updates on recruits, sent ponographic photos and videos, and also received instructions in return, from Kayanja. Ssentongo also claimed that some of the pornographic materials linked to these exchanges later disappeared or was deleted by Kayanja.
In a striking part of the testimony, the witness alleged that a foreign national, described as an American visitor, was brought to the farm and introduced to him as a trainer. He claimed the visitor stayed for a number of weeks and allegedly provided guidance on identifying recruits and operating within what he described as a wider international structure.
“He showed me the signs and gestures on which I can base to identify fellow homosexuals. Actually one of them, Pastor Kayanja normally uses it whenever he’s on the pulpit preaching. Even one of the dressing codes the Muzungu told me about, Kayanja also dresses the same way during overnight prayers,” Ssentongo told court.
The witness further alleged that he was informed of alleged global connections involving support systems, including legal and financial assistance for members of the network in different countries.
He also alleged that he was repeatedly told the group had strong protection and influence within state institutions, including the judiciary, and that any cases arising from their activities would not succeed.
“The Muzungu told me that their organization supports a number of African countries financially to ensure they accept to operate under their armpits. He also said they sponsor lawyers, some of them right from school, so that they can defend the homosexuals in court during times of need,” he added.
According to his testimony, Ssentongo was assured of protection and promised financial rewards, travel opportunities, and eventual relocation to America, including assistance in obtaining identification documents through official channels, despite being under age at that time.
“After the Muzungu promised to take me to the United States of America, Kayanja told me he would call his people working with NIRA (Also homosexuals) and instruct them to make for me a national ID, though I was only fifteen years at that moment,” he said.
Court was further told that the witness was assigned additional duties beyond recruitment, including guarding certain premises of Pastor Alosius Bugingo’s wife, Teddy Naluswa (after they fellow out as husband and wife). He claimed these assignments were part of a broader system of instructions issued within the alleged structure.
The young man also told court that the arrangement later broke down after disputes over promised payments and continued instructions, after which he attempted to disengage from the Kiryandongo farm but was allegedly instructed to return and continue with the activities.
He claimed that when he later attended a scheduled meeting with the pastort, in September 2021, where payments of the money him and others had worked for, and been promised as payments for being sodomized by Kayanja himself, was expected, security operations, including the Police and SFC soldiers were deployed, leading to arrests and the confiscation of their mobile phones and other devices said to contain relevant material.
He further alleged that some of the digital evidence was later altered or deleted after confiscation, though this remains part of contested evidence before court.
Court was adjourned to July 9th, when the hearing will be resumed.
