Pastor Bugingo’s Salt TV Goes Off Air Over Shs 100M Debt, Appeals for Contributions

Kampala, Uganda – Troubled times continue for Pastor Aloysius Bugingo of House of Prayer Ministries International, after his Salt TV channel was switched off by satellite providers over an unpaid bill exceeding Shs 100 million.

During a prayer service on Friday, a visibly distressed Bugingo informed his congregation that the channel had been pulled off air. He urged his followers to make contributions so that the station could be reconnected to free-to-air waves, arguing that the gospel of Jesus Christ must reach the unsaved and those far away.

“We need your support to bring the channel back. The message of salvation cannot be silenced,” the pastor told his sheep.

The development is the latest in a series of financial and personal setbacks that have dogged Bugingo since his highly publicized separation from his long-time wife, Teddy Bugingo. The couple once endured severe poverty together, but after rising to prominence, Bugingo parted ways with Teddy and took up with former receptionist Susan Makula.

Sources close to the pastor say life has not been kind to him financially or emotionally since the split. Plans to construct a new church, which were meant to be finalized weeks before the separation, have reportedly failed to materialize. His once-thriving media company is also on the rocks, with most of its workers having resigned. The situation forced Bugingo to shut down the popular newspaper Ono Bwino, which he had built into a household name.

As of press time, neither Pastor Bugingo nor his associates had responded to requests for further comment on the TV shutdown or the fate of his remaining media assets.