STATE HOUSE, ENTEBBE: President Yoweri Museveni has hailed the outstanding contribution by the East African Revival Movement and Christianity as a whole for their nourishing and betterment of the moral values of the Ugandan society, saying they have laid a firm foundation for the transformation and development of Uganda and the East Africa.

The President was yesterday speaking at the fundraising drive and official launch of RITE Television, a Christian television channel dedicated to the preaching and entrenchment of the gospel and Christian values, moral nourishment focusing mostly on the youth, the family and promotion of good leadership in society.

RITE television whose launch took place at State House Entebbe was founded by Greater Kampala Revival Fellowship an association of a number of fellowship groups from the Kampala Metropolitan as a mass media tool of spreading the gospel. 

Several Fellowship groups that form the  Greater Kampala Revival Fellowship are mainly led by descendants of the founder members of the East African Revival Movement a Christian movement that worked greatly to spread the gospel when Christianity was being introduced in East Africa at the beginning of the 20th century.

President Museveni said that the birth of Christianity and the emergence of Christian organizations such as the East African Revival Movement worked to spread the gospel and impacted on the lives and society fiber of Ugandans by promoting positive social values that led to the emergence of a new enlightened generation of Ugandans that greatly impacted on the transformation and development of Uganda and the East African region.

The President said that although traditional Africans knew that there was God, they were not coming out clear on who their God was as Christianity did.

The President said the East African Revival Movement carried a clear message about death and resurrection and also summarized the ten commandments in the golden commandments that state that Love God with all your heart and soul and love your neighbor as you love yourself,” President Museveni said, adding, “The above message helped instill discipline in society and people had to do away with bad behavior such as promiscuity, drunkenness and hatred and substituted them for new values such as faithfulness, honesty, truthfulness and open methods of work.” 

Museveni said that the revival Movement also helped to promoted healthy living in the areas where they emphasized hygiene, cleanliness and good nutrition among the converts. And also contributed to good education and literacy levels in areas where they operated starting many schools and encouraging the converts to take children to school.

“The East African Revival Movement was of a great value to our society thats how some of us went to school because our parents were part of the movement and I congratulate you for taking on the mantle of the works of your parents” he told the founders of RITE television.

The President contributed 100 million Uganda shillings and ten cows towards the fundraising drive and asked the founders to work towards the goals of the members of the revival movement for the betterment of society.

The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataha Museveni whose parents were members of the East African Revival Movement expressed concern that society has chosen to use the mass media negatively instead of using it positively for the betterment of society.

She wondered why media was largely used to propagate lies and falsehood and instigate hatred instead of promoting unity of society, morals and working for development. 

Mrs. Museveni also expressed concern that Africans did not have their own independent media that can relay their messages of choice and most times rely on foreign controlled media whose messages are always confusing and with a different agenda. 

She congratulated the founders of RITE television for availing Ugandans with an alternative voice that could help deliver positive and lifesaving messages especially to the youth.

She appealed to the Church and those on the frontline of spreading the gospel to embrace technology in doing their work as they are not able to escape from technology in this modern era.

“Technology can greatly facilitate the spread of the gospel but technology should not define and lower the standards of the Church and Christianity,” she said.

She contributed 50 million shillings and 5 cows towards the fundraising drive and appealed to proprietors of RITE television to always endeavor to do and preach what is right in the presence of God.

Mrs. Dora Kibende the founder member of RITE television said that the Christians under Greater Kampala Revival fellowship said they started a Christian television to spread the gospel after encountering challenges that came with the lockdown due corona virus that also locked up Churches. She added that with the lockdown, several people especially the youth were kept in their homes and this exposed them to several negative mass media without an alternative which put them in great danger adding that it was time to give the people an alternative positive voice.

ENDS...