Martin Ssempa
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Martin Ssempa (born 1968) is a Ugandan
charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...
pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
, activist, and the founder of the
Makerere Makerere ( ) is a neighborhood in the city of Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The name also applies to the hill on which this neighborhood is perched; one of the original seven hills that constituted Kampala at the time of its founding, in the ...
Community Church. He referred to himself as Pastor Doctor Martin Ssempa, but now calls himself Gabriel Baaba Gwanga'mujje Eri Yesu. Ssempa first came to international prominence in 2010, after a presentation video he made at his church, which showcased his opposition to
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
, went viral.


Early life and education

Martin Ssempa was born in Naluzaale of Uganda's Masaka District in 1968 to a single mother. He did not know his father. His mother was a teacher and he changed schools often as a child. Ssempa went to Kimanya Primary School in
Masaka Masaka is a city in the Central Region, Uganda, Buganda Region in Uganda, west of Lake Victoria. The city is the headquarters of Masaka District. Location Masaka is approximately to the south-west of Kampala on the highway to Mbarara. The ...
and St. Peter's Primary School in
Nsambya Nsambya is a hill in the center of Kampala, the capital and largest city in Uganda. The name also refers to the upscale and middle-class neighborhoods that have been developed on the hill and its slopes. Location Nsambya is located approximat ...
. He then went to Rubaga Boys' Secondary School, before he completed his
A level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
at
Namilyango College Namilyango College is a boys-only boarding secondary school located in Mukono District in the Central Region, Uganda, Central Region of Uganda, whose history and excellence in sports and academics have made it one of the most prestigious schools i ...
. During his teenage years he became a celebrity in East Africa as the national
break dancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consists mainly o ...
champion. In 1988, Ssempa was admitted to
Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...
. During his time at the university, both Ssempa's brother and sister contracted HIV. Ssempa sat by their beds as they grew sicker. When they died in 1990, he blamed their promiscuity and feared that his lifestyle would also lead to his death via AIDS; thus, he decided to take action. Ssempa converted to
Evangelical Christianity Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
at the
Wandegeya Wandegeya is a neighborhood within the city of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest metropolitan area. The name is derived from the weaver birds, (''Endegeya'' in Luganda), which used to inhabit the area prior to the 1990s. Location Wandegeya ...
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
Youth Center. He travelled the country with a drama group that performed in schools in an effort to educate students about AIDS. Ssempa graduated from Makerere with a
Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in
Social Science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
, specialising in sociology. He later received a Master of Arts degree in counselling from Cairn University.


Citizenship

According to a voter registration application submitted on 6 July 2012, Ssempa is a United States citizen.


Career


Ministry

In 1996, Ssempa founded the Makerere Community Church on the campus of Makerere University.


Activism

Ssempa has advocated a cessation of tribal rivalries and hatred in Uganda.
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

Guest Blog: Tribal Politics: Role of the church in peace building
/ref> Ssempa opposes the
separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
and the use of condoms to prevent HIV contraction, and supports
abstinence Abstinence is the practice of self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol (drug), ...
plus fidelity education in the fight against sexual diseases. He claims to be leading a crusade to "kick
sodomy Sodomy (), also called buggery in British English, principally refers to either anal sex (but occasionally also oral sex) between people, or any Human sexual activity, sexual activity between a human and another animal (Zoophilia, bestiality). I ...
out of Uganda, endorsing proposed legislation in Uganda that makes certain homosexual acts punishable by life in prison or, in some severe cases of
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
, death". He is a strong advocate of the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill."UN rights boss urges Uganda to shelve anti-gay bill"
''reuters.com''. Retrieved on 24 September 2016.
He champions the bill by showing
gay pornography Gay pornography is the representation of Sexual practices between men, sexual activity between males with the primary goal to sexual arousal, sexually arouse its audience. Softcore pornography, Softcore gay pornography also exists; which at o ...
, depicting
fisting Fisting—also known as fist fucking (FF) and handballing—is a sexual activity that involves inserting one or more hands into the rectum (anal fisting) or the vagina (vaginal fisting). Fisting may be performed on oneself (self-fisting) or perf ...
,
anilingus Anilingus (also spelled analingus) is an oral sex, oral and anal sex act (anal–oral contact or anal–oral sex) in which one person stimulates the human anus, anus of another by using their tongue or lips. The anus has a relatively high conc ...
, and
coprophilia Coprophilia (from Greek κόπρος, ''kópros'' 'excrement' and φιλία, ''philía'' 'liking, fondness'), also called scatophilia or scat (Greek: σκατά, ''skatá'' 'feces'), is the paraphilia involving sexual arousal and pleasure from ...
in his church and at conferences. These sermons became a viral meme on the internet as "Eat Da Poo Poo". He has become a popular
Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
due to this and his many other anti-homosexual performances, most notably an appearance on the
breakfast television Breakfast television (Europe and Australia) or morning show (Canada and the United States) is a type of news broadcasting, news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts Live television, live in the morning (typically broadcast pro ...
show ''Morning Breeze'' opposite LGBT activist
Pepe Julian Onziema Pepe Julian Onziema (born November 30, 1980) is a Ugandan LGBT rights and human rights activist. He began his human rights work in 2003. Onziema is the Director of Programs at Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), an Intersex and LGBT, LGBTI advo ...
. He has become known as "the Pasta" and "Pasta Senpai" in these memes. Of the bill, Ssempa has stated the following:
Some people have asked about the rationale of a death penalty mentioned in the Bill. There has been a lot of misinformation about this matter with headlines such as: “Gays face death penalty in Uganda”. These headlines are deliberately misleading. This penalty applies only in special cases termed 'aggravated homosexuality', which include, those convicted of unlawful homosexual rape of a child or handicapped invalid; this is a conviction of paedophilles! As highlighted in the problem of 'virgin rape cures HIV/AIDS' the offender can be a person living with HIV; a parent or guardian of the victim where there is abuse of authority! Finally is the use of drugs to stupefy the child so that they can rape them! Clearly, the intent of this penalty is to protect weaker members of society from being victimized. Please note that for over 15 years Uganda has had the same penalty for persons who have carnal knowledge of minors heterosexually, mainly to protect against sexual abuse of girls by men. This time, this provision intends to provide equal protection of boys, among others.


Influence

Ssempa's international influence has been exhibited through his work with a branch of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief The United States President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the global health funding by the United States to address the global HIV/AIDS Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, epidemic and help save the lives of those suffering from the disease ...
(PEPFAR). Because of his involvement in light of the anti-gay bill he backs in his own country, PEPFAR has been labelled by gay and lesbian support groups as promoting homophobia. In addition to his anti-gay agenda, Ssempa has co-authored Uganda's 2004 "Abstinence and Being Faithful" AIDS policy; this policy is a revision of the previous "ABC Program" – Abstinence, Being Faithful, and Condom Usage. As well, he is a special representative of the Task Force on AIDS of Ugandan First Lady
Janet Museveni Janet Kainembabazi Museveni (; born 24 June 1948) is a Ugandan politician and the First Lady of Uganda since 1986. She is married to Yoweri Museveni (incumbent president of Uganda) She has been Cabinet Minister of Education and Sports sinc ...
. He has testified before the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. In the past, Ssempa was associated with
Rick Warren Richard Duane Warren (born January 28, 1954) is an American evangelical Christian pastor and author. He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical Baptists, Baptist megachurch in Lake Forest, California. Since 2022, he serves as execut ...
and
Saddleback Church Saddleback Church is an Evangelicalism, evangelical, non-denominational Christian Multi-site church, multi-site megachurch based in Lake Forest, California. It is the largest church in California, and one of the largest in the United States of Amer ...
's HIV/AIDS Initiative. During this time period, he served as keynote speaker at Warren's ''Disturbing Voices'' AIDS conference; Warren has since distanced himself from Ssempa and completely severed ties with him in 2007.


Arrest and conviction

In October 2012, Ssempa and five other individuals were convicted in Buganda Road Court of conspiring to tarnish a rival pastor's reputation by falsely accusing him of engaging in homosexuality. The guilty verdict stemmed from a May 2009 incident in which Ssempa and the others engaged in a conspiracy to coerce male church members at Robert Kayanja's Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral to claim that they had sexual relations with Kayanja. Following a police investigation, the young men withdrew their accusations and claimed to have received a sum of money to claim that they had been raped by Pastor Kayanja. The six individuals, including Ssempa, were charged with defamation and sentenced to a fine of one million shillings each (about US$390) and one hundred hours of community service.


Criticism

In 2014, Ugandan writer Paul Kaliisa criticized him for promoting homosexuality due to his screenings of gay pornographic videos in churches, and mentioned that these actions should be subject to sanctions under the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill.


See also

*
LGBT rights in Africa LGBTQ, Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Africa are generally lacking, especially in comparison to much of the LGBTQ rights in the Americas, Americas, LGBTQ rights in Europe, Europe and LGBTQ rights in Oceania, O ...
*
LGBT rights in Uganda Uganda's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights record is considered one of the world's worst. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for both men and women in Uganda. The British Empire introduced the original laws criminal ...


References


External links


Eat da poo pooMartin Ssempa on homosexuality debate on Ugandan NBS TVSsempa's "Million Voter's" MarchMartin Ssempa on BBC News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ssempa, Martin 1968 births Living people Ugandan activists 21st-century Ugandan clergy Charismatics pastors Internet memes Viral videos American people of Ugandan descent People from Masaka District Ugandan evangelicals Converts to evangelical Christianity Makerere University alumni Cairn University alumni Anti-LGBTQ evangelical Christian activists Members of the clergy convicted of crimes Summary offence in Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity Internet_memes_introduced_in_2010