When your child finds a spiritual home, you want to feel reassured that they are in a place that keeps them away from bad company. You hope the church environment steers them away from drug abuse, immorality, and negative influences that are derailing young people today. As a parent, you believe that regular prayer, serving in church, and moral teaching will help your child stay grounded, as any parent would want. Yet that hope turns into fear when the church leadership is repeatedly surrounded by public controversy, not just any usual church scandal, but allegations of homosexuality!

I am a Ugandan parent, and my only son attends a prominent church in this city that many people admire, where the services are organised, the worship is uplifting, and the messages emphasise morality and discipline. On the surface, everything looks right, yet over the years, allegations about the personal conduct of the church’s senior leader have refused to disappear.

These gay allegations have long circulated in public discussions and media reports, often ending up in courtrooms. Some argue that the sodomy allegations are always fabrications planted by ill-wishers and long-time adversaries of the pastor to damage the ministry and its influence. Others believe the endless allegations point to serious ongoing concerns that are never fully addressed, partly due to connections with people in high places.

Although legal processes have taken place and rulings have been issued after contested testimonies, many parents still find themselves without clarity or peace of mind, knowing that their child continues to seek spiritual enlightenment under a leader whose reputation is questioned.

As a parent, this uncertainty is difficult to ignore. And as much as I do not want my son to grow up influenced by rumours or gossip, I also cannot pretend that repeated public allegations, circulating before he was even born, mean nothing. Fellow parents, we live in a country where court rulings often depend on who has money, who knows who, and whose voice carries weight, leaving many people unwilling to accept the outcomes. This leaves lingering questions about whether those accused are truly guilty or falsely condemned.

To my 19-year-old son, these allegations and court cases are distant, abstract stories he does not fully grasp. He continues to walk into the same church to pray, learn, serve and belong. He sees a happily married man of God preaching confidently and a congregation that believes. I see something else. I see a child placing trust in a ministry whose leadership has been questioned too many times to ignore.

This situation has torn me apart, having to choose between faith and responsibility. I want my son to grow spiritually, but I also want him shielded from the risk. I want to respect religious freedom, yet I cannot ignore my instincts as a parent. In a country where religious leaders hold significant influence over young minds, these claims of immorality touch far more families than we admit.

Week after week, as he says, ‘Goodbye, I’m going to church,’ I can’t help but imagine a day when he might be among the victims we see on TV or in courtrooms. Still, I console myself, trusting that the God my family and I serve will watch over him wherever he goes. All of this I have carried quietly in my heart, choosing not to judge.

I know many Ugandan parents silently carry the same struggle, weighing faith against doubt. We fear being judged for questioning, yet fear even more the cost of staying silent. I remain torn: I believe in God and value church, but I also trust my duty as a parent to question, protect, and guide my child wisely. Fellow parents, standing where I stand, what would you do?