Joseph Mayanja alias Jose Chameleon is now a Muslim and he is now called Gaddafi Mayanja. However, some Ugandans abroad have received the news with a lot of scepticism. One Peter Okurut Simon who is based in USA said: ‘I don’t see why Chameleon’s Catholic priest turned father-in- law should get mad with him. It is true, the father -in-law is/was a priest. If the father-in-law as a Catholic priest can produce a daughter against the Catholic Church dogmas, why should he get mad with Chameleon who is exercising his freedom of choice? May be Chameleon is targeting a certain “Hajji’s” daughter for a second wife and the Hajji has given a condition for him to covert before! Fathers-in-laws should know their limits’’
‘’….That said, the father-in-law may use his wealth to influence the outcome of the conversion, he has a lot of businesses in Kampala and Nairobi, he even owns a powerful secondary school in Kampala where the daughter is the manager kind of. Chameleone’s wife is a good and kind lady.’’
Richard Mukasa, a Uganda based in London was among those not happy with this development:’’ Religion a kind of technology or invention which is has been used to spellbind and captivate the minds of African people. As such, African people have been made to be dependent on the thinking and creativity of Arabs and Europeans. Money, religion and technology are the three most spellbinding and captivating forces that African people must be LIBERATED from in order to advance and all of these fall under the umbrella of TECHNOLOGY (Applied Knowledge). Religion has been used by the colonialists both Arabs and Europeans to indoctrinate, dominate and then discourage African people from attempting to change so that the dominant people (colonialists) can retain their power and influence over us.’’
Mukasa went on to say:’’….But the Europeans/ Arabs came and informed them that African names, religion, language, social order, kings etc were not good. As such, they baptised them with new names such as Abbey, Richard, Muhammend etc. Then, they stopped them from worshiping their God, they sold them into slavery, and even forced them to speak European languages and Arabic to these invaders, our African languages are not a sign of intelligence. Right now, Abbey, you lost your identity, culture and status. You always look up to the Europeans for knowledge, money, advice etc and then you look up to the Arabs for spiritual needs. Basically, you and I were colonised mentally, financially, physically, spiritually and intellectually. The Arabs / Europeans stand on a higher ground before us because they claim to have a higher moral/ intellectual authority over us.’’
‘’……LIBERATION from oppressive entities may require physical conflict, but African people must create African technology including our own religion, which is competitive with, or better than those of our oppressors. Engaging in a physical campaign for liberation is understandable from an emotional standpoint, but premature in terms of being sincerely practical resulting in a positive outcome………..The aim of the liberation is to ensure that African people are not colonised, enslaved, exploited, or taken advantage of and ensuring that traditional African culture is preserved.
Technology in form of weapons (guns, bombs, missiles, lasers etc) which threaten the survival, existence, and wellbeing of Africans are just fear inducing, supporting and driving forces of success of other technologies such as Law systems, Religious and Economic Systems of the Europeans / Arabs and would quickly abandon them.’’
But one of the Ugandans based in Kampala and works as a journalist at Newvision, Ahmed Katerega, rebuked Mukasa’s utterances: ‘’l think even our own people, like Baganda, who were worshipping one God, Katonda (The Creator) with a shrine at Butonda in Kyaggwe, were monotheists. Katonda had other names like Lugaba (The Giver), Dunda (The Shepherrd), Namugereka (The Designer/Planner/Builder of the Earth), Liisoddene (The Big Eye), etc…
”In the West, they had Ruhanga, and in the North He was Lubanga. But monotheism stopped in Buganda in the 16th century when Kabaka Nakibinge was defeated by Bunyoro under Omukama Winyi and Buganda was fully occupied. Baganda fled to Ssese where they hired mercinaries including lubaale (gods) like Kibuuka, god of war, and drove Banyoro out of the country. No wonder Baganda embraced Islam and Christianity and even died for them. Some went far and even embraced Judaism, which is a religion for the Jewish nation but not for the universe.’’