Severino Kiberu Lukoya, the father of former Holy Spirit Movement rebel leader Alice Auma Lakwena, has passed away.
Lukoya, 99, died at his home in Awere Cell, Pece-Laroo Division, Gulu City, around 2 AM on Saturday.
He was the leader of New Jerusalem International Tabernacle Ministries, also known as Meltar, a church incorporating both the Bible and the Quran in worship and healing services.
His daughter, Doreen Adokorach, confirmed to Uganda Radio Network that Lukoya had been bedridden for four months due to prostate cancer. Two months ago, he underwent surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor and had been responding well to treatment until Friday night, when his health deteriorated.
“Last night, he started experiencing severe chest pain and coughing. Despite efforts, he passed away at 2 AM this morning,” Adokorach said.
Lukoya’s body has been transferred to the Fourth Infantry Division morgue pending burial arrangements.
Adokorach described her father as a devoted servant of God who dedicated his life to spreading the gospel among the Acholi people and beyond.
“God lived in him and spoke through him to the Acholi people, urging them to abandon their traditional ways and serve God’s purpose. Though his physical body has passed, his spirit lives on,” she remarked.
Adokorach intends to assume leadership of the ministry, which reportedly boasts over 10,000 followers in Acholi and other regions worldwide.
About Lukoya
Severino Lukoya, born in 1925, was a former catechist in the Church of Uganda who later started his own preaching after claiming to be possessed by the Holy Spirit in 1948. He had three children, the eldest being Alice Auma Lakwena.
Auma initially worked as a diviner and healer but later led the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM) in 1985, purportedly to combat evil and restore peace to Acholi land. Her insurgency was defeated by the National Resistance Army (NRA) in 1987 near Jinja, after which she sought refuge in Kenya until her death in 2007.
After Auma’s departure, Lukoya focused on establishing ritual prayer centers in East Acholi, notably in Kitgum, which drew government scrutiny. He was arrested in 1989 on allegations of rebel activities and served time in Luzira Maximum Prison until 1992.
In 1993, he founded the New Jerusalem International Tabernacle Ministry in Gulu. Lukoya’s controversial lifestyle included claims of possessing supernatural healing powers, leading to several arrests for illegal practices and allegations of causing deaths in his shrines through failed healings and false prophecies.
