Teddy Naluswa, the estranged wife of Pastor Aloysius Bugingo, officially opened her own church last week.
In her narrative to the 500 congregants, she said it wasn’t a coincidence. It was a dream. God told her that her ministry would last like the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which stood for 857 years, before being gutted by fire last year.
As Teddy launched her World of Salvation Ministries International at Hotel Triangle, the word did rounds among congregants, some of whom were prominent members of Bugingo’s House of Prayer Ministries International (HPMI), that it was squeaky bum time at the Bwaise- based church.
“Bugingo is living in fear. He has lost many of his influential followers,” they said. Bugingo, in an interview with the Kampala Sun, laughed o the claims.
He compares Teddy’s shot at preaching the gospel to a Universal Primary Education (UPE) scholar trying to compete with a Harvard graduate in the grasp of issues.
“There is no competition between a student in a UPE school and one in an international school or Harvard University. Teddy’s fellowship will collapse in two months. She might afford to pay the rent, but she will not have the congregation,” he scoffed.
“Where is Pastor David Martin Ssebuguzi?” he rhetorically asked in relation to his former deputy, who abandoned him in 2016 to start Living Faith City Church.
According to Bugingo, if people like Pr. Joseph Sserwadda and Pr. Robert Kayanja failed to beat him at what he does, then Teddy doesn’t stand a chance.
“I am a big brand. I started from Bat Valley and each year that passes by, I grow stronger. Teddy is not my competition, even though I taught her how to pray. I, however, wish her luck, because she needs a lot of it,” he said.
Bugingo confessed that what is pre-occupying his mind is Suzan Makula’s pregnancy. He recently caressed her blossoming belly in front of his congregation and visiting Nigerian Gospel singer David Daniels Ekene. He said their baby would be delivered outside Uganda.