Woman commits suicide inside church after pastor refuses to pay back Shs 16m 

A regular churchgoer, Scovia Akankunda has committed suicide by poisoning inside Depths Ministries Church after pastor Daniel Bukenya refused to pay back Shs 16 million that he allegedly borrowed from her.

Police was forced to fire bullets and teargas at a group of other agitated Christians in Ibanda municipality who attempted to vandalise the church following Akakunda’s death. The church is located in Kafunjo cell, Bufunda Division. 

According to the LC I chairperson of Kafunjo cell, Colman Mulonde, the pastor borrowed the money from the deceased with a promise of paying it back within two months. Mulonde explained that Akankunda was a regular attendee of prayers at Depths Ministries.

The protesters demanded that the authorities take action against the church for causing noise pollution and address the allegations raised against Bukenya.

Emily Musiimenta, a vendor at Ssaza market, claimed that Bukenya had been persuading women in the market to provide him with money for prayer services, promising to remove curses and protect their businesses from harmful influences. 

Rwizi Region police spokesperson Samson Kasasira said that they are actively searching for Bukenya as investigations into the matter continue. He says that the deceased’s body is lying at Ruhoko health center IV pending postmortem examination to verify the claims that Akankunda ended her life using poison.