Following mass public outcry and denouncement from the born-again church leaders this week, a er he degraded his wife about her struggle with haemophilia, you would think Pastor Aloysius Bugingo ‑ finally knows better, but it’s far from over.
Amid the escalating drama that started when he demanded a divorce from his wife of 29 years, Teddy Naluswa, Bugingo has privately bragged that he enjoys “high-level protection”. He, therefore, says he cannot be brought down by jelly‑ sh backbone hecklers.
Although he doesn’t mention names, Bugingo’s estranged wife, Teddy, in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, gave some subtle clues. She relayed how Bugingo told her: “Even government knows I am with Susan,” Teddy revealed that even with all the negotiations and court arbitration sessions, Pastor Bugingo’s mind is made up.
All that is left is for Teddy to tell him ‘the kind of divorce she wants’. Short of that Pastor Bugingo is ready to use the three powerful tools at his disposal; his state connections, his Salt media empire and the pulpit.
BUGINGO’S HIGH CONNECTIONS
Bugingo has always given o the aura of a connected man. e launch of his radio station on October 7, 2014, at Nakivubo stadium wasn’t without incident.
A source told us that before the Radio opened, Bugingo had clashed with Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) executive director Godfrey Mutabaazi and Jinja East MP Moses Balyeku.
Thee friction between Balyeku and Bugingo came to the fore when the enterprising MP sold the frequency of his Baba FM to Bugingo and another party. UCC took forever to grant the licence. In a charged sermon attended by thousands of worshippers, notably UPDF Chief Political commissar Col Felix Kulayigye (Now Brig. Gen.), Bugingo bragged about his state connections.
Bugingo revealed how the then Director of Operations in the Uganda Police Force, Andrew Felix Kaweesi (RIP), tried to block the inauguration of his Salt FM but soon discovered that the mere pastor was well connected.
According to Bugingo, Kaweesi was forced to give up a er receiving a phone call from one of his big connections. Last week, when rumours of his arrest spread on social media, Bugingo laughed it off, saying it was a ‑ figment of a fertile imagination.
He was proved right when activists were picked like grasshoppers. Bugingo bragged that he is one of the people they cannot arrest since he has many friends in the Police force.
“I am a good person. I have many friends in the Police. They cannot arrest me. People like Luke Owoyesigyire (Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson), Fred Enanga (Police spokesperson) and Asan Kasingye (Police Chief Political Commissar) are my friends. I even invited them to come and we pray together, but they have never come. I guess they are always busy because of the nature of their jobs,” he said during a phone interview.