Sheila Gashumba, Kayanja Jr clash over Frank’s Shs500m miracle challenge

What the report says

Ugandan social commentator Frank Gashumba’s Shs500 million challenge to pastors who claim to perform miraculous healing has prompted a public back-and-forth on X involving his daughter, Sheila Gashumba, and Pastor Robert Kayanja Jr. Sqoop Uganda reported that the debate centered on whether churches and ministers should be held accountable for claims made to believers, especially when money is collected from congregations.

Sheila Gashumba defended her father, saying his criticism was not aimed at Christianity itself but at what she described as questionable miracles and repeated demands for tithe from poor followers. She argued that churches should be transparent about finances and rejected claims that her father opposes religion, citing his Catholic background and church attendance.

Kayanja Jr, a senior pastor at Miracle Centre Cathedral in Rubaga, responded by defending his father’s ministry and pointing to charity work such as feeding vulnerable people and supporting education. He said the church keeps records and is audited by the Uganda Revenue Authority, and added that miracles should be attributed to Jesus rather than pastors. He also broadened the exchange by contrasting scrutiny of Christian churches with what he described as limited criticism of other faiths.

The dispute follows Frank Gashumba’s increase of the challenge from Shs200 million to Shs500 million for any religious leader who can demonstrate healing of a critically ill patient in a hospital setting. The wider argument has become part of a broader public conversation in Uganda about faith, accountability, and claims of supernatural healing.