{UAH} Prayer team arrested for trespassing on Adhola shrines - Daily Monitor

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Prayer team members arrested for trespassing on Adhola shrines

Tororo- Police are holding two university students and two pastors for allegedly trespassing on "Nyakiriga", the Adhola chiefdom cultural shrines in Paya Sub County in Tororo.

Mr Ivan Wamimbi and Mr Stephen Nkambo are students of Mukono Christian University Mbale campus. They were arrested on Friday.

Police said the duo in company of 25 people including pastors John Okoth and Jude Okello had gone to the cultural site without permission from the cultural institution.

But one student, Mr Jimmy Ongala said Mr Ivan Wambimbi , who was their leader got permission from a one Joseph, the site caretaker.

 "Before we stormed the place, our team leader Ivan got permission from Joseph the caretaker who told us that it was a public place and was open to everybody," he said.

Mr Ongala said they had gone to Paya and Sop Sop Sub -county in Tororo for six days of door to door evangelism "when God revealed to them that there were evil spirits at the cultural site".

He said they got in touch with Pastor Okoth, the chairman of pastors in the Sub county to go with them and "confront the spirits" at the shrines.

However, the arrest of the students did not go down well with some residents of Tororo.

Mr Okello Jadwong, a resident, said if people who go to the shrines to slaughter goats and hens as sacrifices to the spirits, without seeking permission are never arrested because it is a public place, why arrest people who went there to pray?

Pastor Beth Omoit of Youth International Ministries said the spirits at the site should have been allowed to defend themselves from the prayer group without involving police.

Bukedi region Police spokesperson, Mr Sowali Kamulya confirmed the arrest and said the suspects  would be charged with criminal trespass.

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