Another pastor has landed in the media headlights. This time, it’s a Ugandan pastor arrested for allegedly committing a lewd and lascivious act on a girl while on a domestic flight.
HALLANDALE BEACH – THE VOICE magazine/Advancing Christian Life & Culture
Ugandan Pastor Jackson Senyonga, 41, the senior pastor of Christian Life Centre was arrested and then released on bail. He was accused of fondling a 13 year-old girl while aboard a United Airlines flight on August 16th from Denver, Co. to Oakland, Ca.
On the day of the arraignment the Almeda County State Attorney’s office issued a letter of intent not to file, dropped the charges, and noted that no further court appearances were required.
However, the incident is not over yet. Almeda County relinquished jurisdiction to the federal government, which has authority to investigate and try incidents that take place during a U.S. flight.
“This matter has been transferred to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for further review and possibly prosecution,” Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office told The Voice magazine. “The pastor did give a statement and was very cooperative with police.”
The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oakland declined to comment, as the investigation is ongoing. However, Robin Urbanksi, a spokesperson for United Airlines, told The Voice magazine, “We are aware of an alleged incident on this flight concerning Jackson Senyonga and are fully cooperating with the local authorities and the FBI.”
Senyonga, owner of Top Radio and Top Television in Kampala, is one of Uganda’s most recognized pastors. His Christian Life Church (CLC) is one of the largest in the city with more than 40,000 members.
PASTOR RESPECTED IN THE U.S.
According to the CLC website, in the United States, Jackson has ministered with spiritual leaders such as Jack Hayford, Bill Bright, Pat Robertson, Rick Joyner, A.R. Bernard, John Kilpatrick, and many others. He also belongs to Dr. C. Peter Wagner’s International Coalition of Apostles.
Pastors Dave Booye of Rogue Valley Fellowship and Ron McGee of The Rock of Wilmington both sent letters of endorsement and support of Pastor Senyonga to The Voice.
“According to Pastor Jackson he was sitting in the middle seat on the flight. On one side of Jackson was a gentleman sitting near the window, on the other side was a young girl traveling alone sitting on the aisle,” United States Board of Directors of Christian Life Centre said in a statement.
“The man had fallen asleep and was often falling over into Jackson’s space which caused Jackson to lean away from him in the direction of the girl. At no time did he conduct himself inappropriately or without integrity.
“He never even spoke to the girl or the man. However, the girl was apparently uncomfortable and spoke to a flight attendant, which resulted in her moving to a different seat during the flight. Upon landing Jackson was detained by the police as the flight attendant who talked to the girl notified authorities that Jackson might have inappropriately touched her. Pastor Jackson says, “This is absolutely untrue.””
SENYONGA’S WIFE STANDS BY HUSBAND
In Africa, there are diverse opinions and thoughts about Senyonga’s character. Pastor Alex Mitala, general overseer of the National Fellowship of Born Again Churches in Uganda, told The Minitor Online that he believes it was the flight attendants who were Jackson’s real accusers, not the girl because the air hostesses were very curious when the girl asked to take another seat. “I have never heard anything like that about him, I have no reason not to believe him,” Mitala said. “It’s unfortunate that it happened like that.”
On the other hand, Pastor Solomon Male, the reformist head of Arising for Christ Ministries, offered a scathing assessment of Senyonga’s ways, describing him as the flamboyant pastor who “reaped a lot of money” but never accounted for it.
Eve, Senyonga’s wife of 18 years, is standing by her husband in spite of these allegations. “I’ve witnessed his integrity even before we married and his moral integrity during our marriage. I am very proud of him for the way he conducts himself in all situations and I firmly and strongly believe this is a false allegation and that the Lord will vindicate him.”
The Board of Christian Life Centre believes fully that this process will come to an end quickly: “We ask that you stand with us and pray that the truth will come to light and that the ministry that God has put together will grow even stronger.”
Contact The Voice magazine editor at editor@thevoicemagazine.com
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Pastor senyonga shouldnt be blamed for molesting a 13year old girl in the plane before finding out whether it was true or false. depending on the second hand information is quiet awful to the extent that it ruins ones integrity and respect.
It is better to first find about the girl whom the prasctice was done if so,to find out whether it was true or false.
I believe people always come up with their excogitated ideas about others to spoil their names. it so imperative to find out the truth before moving on with amorphus information all over the world.
I am not defending the pastor but i am trying to inform the whole world to first find out what exactly happened before flying allover with the awful message and information.
I also ask the pastor to come out or to raise his voice from the bars and tell the whole world what exactly happened so that everyone allover the world may know and get convinced.
It is however so toxic to such information about the pastor.
I told my wife that nothing should have been said. There should have been a complete investigation and if guilty then have it told. The way this has gone down no matter whether he is cleared or not mamy people will wonder did he or didn’t he. God bless Him and his Ministry Satan is roaming to and fro seeking who he may devour. Ted Sloper
I DO NOT believe it. Pastor Senyounga is a man of truth. He is an honorable mann. He loves God and all people. It would never happen.
THE HARD PART IS LIVING THROUGH THE STORY. People believe what they hear, without checking out the facts. Especially if is something of this nature.
Katie Borwey
I will make one statement here:
“What you dont know might be what is killing you” whether the statement is true or debatable, depends on who debates and has the information. In regard to the story;
I was suddened by the news in te American press. However as always press doesnt swallow its words, they have after finding out the truth and the Pastor not being charged and set free after just a little time of questioning, not come out to tell the world as if we just are one way thinkers and takers of any word.
I thank the brethren that came out outrightly and condemed the hype in the rpess and prayed too. Its we to do what we know best (prayer). We have grown seeing Apostle Jackson and family, they have gone to places and natured us into knowing God, the true way to heaven, Jesus Christ and the Holy spirit.
Therefore what is killing our press and other people who repeat after them is what they dont know sometimes and are not willing to know it.
Lets keep praying. The truth will remain the truth even though it will be seen after death, like they confirmed that Jesus was the real son of God when the darkness came at midday for three hours and after people saw the sun at 3:00pm, it remains the truth.
I love all
God Bless.
No matter how long it takes the truth will always come out. You cannot burry the truth for more than three days, it will always resurrect.whether it is true or not, damage has been made to the Body of Christ and woe unto that person who is reason for this.
We believe God will be glorified, and Pastor Jackson will be completely cleared from any wrongdoing. God bless the people of Uganda. Please pray for us. Tony
Pastor Senyonga’s ‘track record’ speaks for itself. He is feeding, educating and housing orphans and widows, working on a project to build a hospital, educating others to minister in his country, tirelessly working for God’s honor and glory. It’s a travesty to see how sensationalistic our world has become. In Uganda, I experienced how in public settings people are often crowded into small areas and they are not ‘phobic’ about the squeeze which creates inevitable human contact. Here in the states, we accidentally bump someone and it’s considered ‘inappropriate touching’! I wonder why the sleeping man who allowed his body to spill over onto Jackson’s seat wasn’t arrested for molesting Jackson! (not really but I hope you get the ridiculous aspect of this entire episode.) It would be lovely to see a total retraction from this girl to clear Pastor Jackson’s good name. If everyone in the world would do just a small percentage of good that this man has already done in only 41 short years of his miraculous life, we’d have an amazing planet to live on.
Now, stop being distracted by this garbage and do something to change the life of a child: sponsor an orphan in Uganda through http://www.ChristianLifeMinistries.org
God knows surely
All of us have seen him with his love for people and his nation
what i believe is that GOD is not corrupt. what he did for joseph will be done for my dear pastor
I know GOD keeps his word
lets pray to gather God is faithful
Well, we can’t know for sure what happened but to judge the pastor wrongly basing on such shaky evidence wouldn’t be fair. Harm has been done but whoever is responsible should fear for his/her life because alot of controversy has been caused in Uganda. Critics are flooding the media with articles even those who are making up different stories such that in the end, he not only appears as an adulterer but also as a liar and shameless man. True, the pastor has his own flaws as pointed out by Male, but we shouldn’t go below our integrity by turnishing his image over possible lies.
If these allegations are true, regardless of he has done for the Community, he should be prosecuted and removed from a position of authority in the Church per Biblical instruction. Ideas of ‘cultural space’ are *never* an excuse for touching young people sexually. Clearly no one should be held liable for crimes that they did not commit, but disbelief should not victimize the child involved any more than she allegedly has already been harmed. We have an obligation to our families and our Community to protect our young people from physical and spiritual harm. If these allegations are proven false, we must not hold them against him. However, if these allegations are true, we not only have a direct obligation to forgive Paster Senyonga but also to remove him from his position of spiritual leadership. No one is above the Law of God and we only harm ourselves if we permit any spiritual leader to act above HIS Word.
A bit more information is given here:
http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-07-15/news/predators-are-free-to-move-about-the-cabin/1
NOT TRUE AT ALL AND IT CAN NEVER BE TRUE. THIS GUY HAS A GOOD AND STABLE CHARACTER. I MENA WHY ON EARTH WOULD HE EVER DONE THIS. I STRONGLY STAND TO SAY THAT HE IS BLAMELESS AND ALL THE ALLEGATIONS ARE FAKED.
THOSE ARE JUST CHALLENGES CREATED BY ONLOOKERS BUT NOT THE GUY HIMSELF. HE DIDNT DO IT.
after reading the above sfweekly link it is apparent that the little girl was harmed…..that is why her mother is still persuing action….our government in America is sympathetic to child molestors…because it is cheaper to ignore the child and let them go than to persue justice expecially since it is just a he said she said! Why would this little girl lie! She didn’t know anything about Jackson just that he touched her in a way that was inapropriate….this little girl was a shy and probably intraverted because of her weight! She would not have lied! It is obvious Jackson is a child preditor! That is why he wants an orphanage! I always say child molestors are like fishermen….they go where the fish are…If you want to catch a fish you dont go to a parking lot…you go to a pond….molestors go where there are children so that they can take advantage of there adolescense….This man is sick! And if he is reading this the only way you will make it to heaven is to do as Jesus says…tie a milestone around your neck and jump in a lake…(repent and then kill yourself so that you never harm a child again!) Otherwise you punishment in hell will be the worst of the worst….God will have no mercy on you!
No way man. I don’t believe these accusations for a second. Jackson Senyanga has such a heart for God and people, and the way he has served the people of Uganda says much about him.
Here’s my take on the scene:
Pastor Senyanga leans away from the guy to his right, which means toward the girl, a few times over the course of an hour, because he wants to get away from the guy who is snoring in his ear and drooling on his shoulder. So, his shoulder brushes hers a few times, and this probably makes her uncomfortable because he is a man she doesn’t know.
Girl to Flight Attendent, “Mam, can I move to another seat?”
Flight Attendant, “Why?”
Girl shrugging her shoulders and pointing to him with her eyes, “He’s…touching me.” “Can you move me?”
Flight Attendant, “Oh………….sure, honey, right away”
Later the authorities question her.
When questioning a kid about something, it’s very easy to lead them into saying and agreeing to something, if that’s what they think you want to hear. Also, any experienced psychologist or counselor will tell you that teenage girls are very capable of high drama and LOVE the attention they can get from playing the victim. I know; I have sisters.
Finally, I’m not pointing the finger at her. I’m just saying that I believe Pastor Senyanga to be blameless in this matter, and I’m irritated that the media and the dark forces behind it have once again taken mere accusations and sought to tarnish the reputation of a real saint of a man.
Jackson ssenyonga is atrue man of God who could not do such act. lets be sincere , the girl is 13 years old , how could such a man of God pick interest in her moreover on a flight.JESUS SAVE US.and really what did the girl say that Pastor Jackson told her, was he using signs to communicate to her? JESUS SAVE US. Any way i do not blame the young girl but the way the plane attentands handled the issue was not fair . lets leave everything to the Almighty. AMEN.
Ya but what does the FBI say? they are the ones who were investingating and the US attorney. some comments above suggest the mother is still pursuing the case. What were the final findings of the US authorities to whom the case was released by alemda county. Meantime the guy wants to come to our church so what do we do? He was there before soon after the incident and mentioned some exagerated charges by the authorities but didnt elaborate. As a matter of fact he didnt mention it till he was in the pulpit in front of the congregation. so now he wants to come back to the church. WWJD? call the FBI? Of course he’d know so he could say ya or nay. I think we need to know what the FBI determined and the US attorney. The sheep need a shepard and this guy is still out there.
jackson senyonga did come to the church. but we did call the us district court. feb 2009 case #4,09-cb 074 is active and pending. the phone number there is 415-522 2000. federal magistrate in the northern district of CA
Its only God who knows,whether true or false. so i urge the public not to charge the paster according to what the’ve heard. God bless