A Sunday worship service in northern Uganda descended into an extraordinary confrontation after a Church of Uganda priest and a local council leader exchanged blows inside a church, with footage of the incident spreading rapidly online on various social media platforms.
The altercation took place on September 27 at All Saints Church in Abim Town Council, in Uganda’s North Karamoja region. It involved Rev. Canon Richard Ongom, a retired clergyman serving on contract in the Diocese of North Karamoja, and Innocent Oyoo, the LCII chairperson for Waimer Ward, according to Ugandan media reports.
Video circulating on social media appears to show the two men arguing before the disagreement becomes physical. Worshippers then move in to separate them, disrupting the service.
Dispute began over an announcement
Reports from indicate that Oyoo had sought permission to address the congregation during the service. He said he wanted to pass on information concerning security and government programmes after an earlier engagement with local security officials.
Oyoo’s account is that he was seeking only a brief opportunity to speak.
Rev. Ongom, however, refused to allow the announcement and maintained that he was responsible for proceedings inside the church.
The disagreement subsequently escalated into a physical confrontation.
The precise sequence of events leading to the fight remains under investigation, and the accounts of the two men differ. Rev. Ongom has defended his decision to prevent the announcement, citing church procedures governing who may address worshippers during a service.
The Church of Uganda has since clarified that a person wishing to make an announcement during a service is expected to obtain permission from the priest presiding over the worship.
“The priest presiding over a Service is in charge of worship and all other activities therein,” the Church’s communications office said, referring to its established liturgical procedures.
Police investigation under way
The incident has now moved beyond the church’s internal investigation.
According to reports, both Ongom and Oyoo had filed complaints following the confrontation.
Police recorded statements from the two men and witnesses and issued Police Form 3 documents to both parties as investigations continued. No arrests had been made at the time of the report.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke separately said authorities were considering the circumstances surrounding the altercation, including claims that one of the men sustained marks consistent with a bite. The allegation has not been independently established as fact.
The Church of Uganda has expressed concern over the incident and said it would take appropriate administrative and pastoral measures once the circumstances have been established.
In a statement issued through Acting Provincial Secretary Balaam Muheebwa, the Church said the matter was being handled through its established structures and urged Christians in the Diocese of North Karamoja and the wider church community to remain calm while investigations continue.
The confrontation has attracted attention well beyond Abim after video of the incident circulated widely on social media and was picked up by media outlets in Uganda and elsewhere in East Africa. Reports from The EastAfrican region’s online media ecosystem, including Kenyan and Ugandan publications, have highlighted the unusual nature of a physical confrontation occurring during a Christian worship service.
For now, both the police investigation and the Church of Uganda’s internal inquiry remain ongoing. The circumstances that led a disagreement over a church announcement to become a physical confrontation have yet to be fully established.
