Robert Kayanja is the founder and senior pastor of the Miracle Centre Cathedral, a

megachurch A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2 ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

. He also is the founder and CEO of a Christian television channel, Channel 44 Television (Miracle Ltd).

Ministry

Kayanja started the Miracle Centre as a papyrus reed structure, together with a few other young ministers. Today it is among the region's largest church buildings, accommodating over 10,000 people. He is also overseer of the Miracle Bible College, the Never Again Children's project and the Kapeeka orphanage. He is the director of Miracle Television and a frequent speaker on

Daystar Television Network The Daystar Television Network commonly known as Daystar Television or just Daystar, is an American evangelical Christian-based religious television network owned by the Word of God Fellowship, founded by Marcus Lamb in 1993. Daystar is headqu ...

. The church has also founded over 1,000 Miracle Centre churches across the country.Billy Bruce
'Reign of Terror' Reversed in Uganda
''Charisma magazine'', USA, 31 October 2002 Kayanja encourages his congregation to prosper and use their wealth to serve God and help others.John Lloyd, "The riches of heaven", ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

Weekend'' magazine, 25 October 2008. He is the chairman of AfriAid.

Philanthropy

President

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...

paid tribute to Kayanja and General Salim Saleh for spearheading food

aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Th ...

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

. "I congratulate the congregation and General Saleh for having the noble idea of helping our brothers and sisters in South Sudan who are in need," he said. He observed that they have made the aid in line with the teachings in the Bible that require man to love his neighbor as he loves himself. He said that they were making the right move in standing by our brothers in South Sudan. Senior Presidential advisor on military affairs, General Salim Saleh, along with Kampala businessmen under the umbrella organization Afri-Aid, have raised sh300m to buy food for people in war-ravaged South Sudan. Saleh explained that before the fundraising drive for the people of South Sudan, Kampala business woman Esther Mpumuza approached him and advised that there was need to pray for the people of South Sudan and also mobilize financial support for them. Salva Kiir Mayardit giving an appreciation to the Chairman of Afri Aid Pastor Robert Kayanja for the food donated in South Sudan

Salva Kiir Mayardit giving an appreciation to the Chairman of Afri Aid Pastor Robert Kayanja for the food donated in South Sudan

As chairman of Afri-Aid, Kayanja said, "This is the time for Africans to bring whatever you have so that we can support our people who are living a bad life in South Sudan. As the chairman of Afri-aid I have to make sure Ugandans raise sh2b to buy food for the people in South Sudan."

Criticism and controversy

On 31 December 2005, Kayanja prophesied that one of the presidential election candidates would die. MPs expressed concern, but this did not happen before the election. In 2006 he was criticised for amassing wealth and building a palace at Gaba, a suburb of Kampala on the shore of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

. Kayanja told critics to mind their own business, saying that the grand house was a marriage gift to his wife.

False accusations of sexual assault

In May 2009, 6 alleged victims claimed to have been raped by Kayanja. After a police investigation, the 6 young men withdrew their accusations and claimed to have received a sum of money to claim that they had been raped by Kayanja. In August 2009, the police confirmed the results of their investigation and decided to charge six other pastors with

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

. In October 2012, they were found guilty of

aimed at discrediting the reputation of Kayanja, were fined one million shillings each (approximately US$390) and sentenced to one hundred hours of community service. After a rejected appeal, the conviction was upheld in the High Court of Justice in February 2014. In December 2016, Musasizi Robert, popularly known as Mukisa, who had been the principal witness in the 2009 case, went to Miracle Centre Cathedral and publicly confessed to having been used as a puppet by some pastors and legal practitioners in making false accusations against Kayanja. Kayanja forgave and blessed him.

Personal and family life

Kayanja resides in Kampala with his wife Jessica, son Robert Kayanja Jr. and twin daughters Kirstein and Kristiana. Kristiana survived brain cancer in 2004. Pastor Kayanja is the younger brother of the former Anglican Archbishop of York,

John Sentamu John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Baron Sentamu, (; ; born 10 June 1949) is a retired Anglican bishop and life peer. He was Archbishop of York and Primate of England from 2005 to 2020. In retirement he was subject to investigation over his handl ...

, and of David Makumbi, a bishop in a Ugandan church.

Awards

In 2007, Kayanja won the VIGA Merit Award. Kayanja won the Worldsavers Man of the Year Award in 2014.

References

External links

Kayanja's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kayanja, Robert Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Converts to Christianity 21st-century Ugandan clergy People from Wakiso District Ugandan Pentecostal pastors