The Kampala-based preacher founded Miracle Centre Cathedral and has been involved in church expansion, Christian broadcasting and humanitarian work, including food relief efforts in South Sudan.
Robert Kayanja, born on January 24, 1962, is a Ugandan pastor who founded Miracle Centre Cathedral, one of the country’s largest church congregations, in Kampala.
He is also associated with Channel 44 Television, a Christian broadcaster operated through Miracle Ltd, and serves as chairman of AfriAid, an organisation involved in humanitarian initiatives.
Kayanja’s ministry has expanded from a modest structure built with papyrus reeds into a large church complex that can accommodate more than 10,000 worshippers. The church, located in Kampala’s Rubaga area, was founded in 1991, according to available profiles of the institution.
Building a church and media ministry
Kayanja began his ministry with a small group of young ministers before establishing Miracle Centre Cathedral. The church has since developed a wider network of congregations and religious programmes across Uganda.
He also oversees Miracle Bible College, the Never Again Children’s Project and Kapeeka Orphanage. Through his broadcasting work, he has promoted Christian teaching on television, including appearances on the US-based Daystar Television Network.
His preaching encourages members of his congregation to pursue financial stability and use their resources to support religious and community work. He has identified American evangelist T.L. Osborn as a spiritual mentor.
The church’s activities extend beyond worship and preaching to religious education and community support programmes.
Humanitarian work in South Sudan
Kayanja has also been involved in humanitarian efforts outside Uganda, particularly food assistance for people affected by conflict and hunger in neighbouring South Sudan.
In one fundraising initiative, AfriAid worked with senior presidential adviser on military affairs General Salim Saleh and Kampala businesspeople to raise 300 million Ugandan shillings for food supplies. Businesswoman Esther Mpumuza was reported to have encouraged Saleh to mobilise support for people in need.
Kayanja, speaking as AfriAid chairman, called on Africans to contribute to the relief effort and said he wanted Ugandans to raise two billion shillings for food assistance.
President Yoweri Museveni commended the initiative, linking the assistance to Christian teachings on helping others.
The humanitarian work has continued through related initiatives. Changing Lives, which describes itself as the humanitarian arm of Miracle Centre Ministries, says it partnered with AfriAid to deliver 8,000 tonnes of food relief to South Sudan in 2015, with support from the Ugandan and South Sudanese presidents.
Family and personal life
Kayanja is married to Jessica Kayanja, with whom he has three children: Robert Kayanja Jr. and twin daughters Kirstein and Kristiana.
Published biographical accounts identify him as the younger brother of John Sentamu, the former Anglican Archbishop of York, and David Makumbi, a Ugandan bishop. His parents are identified as John Walakira and Ruth Walakira.
His daughter Kristiana reportedly survived brain cancer in 2004, according to biographical accounts.
Court case and defamation convictions
Kayanja’s ministry also became the subject of a high-profile legal dispute in 2009, when allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him. The allegations were investigated by police, and the case subsequently led to legal proceedings involving several pastors who had accused him.
In October 2012, four pastors, Martin Ssempa, Solomon Male, Michael Kyazze and Robert Kayiira, were convicted of defaming Kayanja. They were each fined one million shillings and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.
The pastors appealed, but the High Court upheld their convictions in February 2014. The ruling concerned the defamation case and should not be confused with a separate finding establishing the truth of every claim made during the wider dispute.
In December 2016, Robert Musasizi, also known as Mukisa, who had been a key witness in the earlier proceedings, reportedly went to Miracle Centre Cathedral and publicly said he had been used by pastors and legal practitioners to make false accusations against Kayanja. Published accounts say Kayanja forgave him.
Awards and recognition
Kayanja received the VIGA Merit Award in 2007 and the Worldsavers Man of the Year Award in 2014, according to published biographical accounts.
His public work has centred on church leadership, Christian broadcasting, religious education and humanitarian assistance. Through Miracle Centre Cathedral and AfriAid, he has combined evangelism with initiatives intended to support vulnerable communities in Uganda and neighbouring countries.
