Controversial Pastor Robert Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Centre is yet again in trouble with the law, this time being accused by the National Drug Authority (NDA) of counterfeiting acaricides.
Acaricides are a class of pesticides used to kill parasitic mites on the farm including ticks.
According to a statement released by NDA, the drugs regulator has confiscated samples of the fake acaricides from his church stores that the pastor and his accomplices were promoting to unsuspecting churchgoers. The drugs agency has also said preparations are being made to charge the influential pastor over the crime.
“National Drug Authority (NDA) on January 02, 2023, learnt with concern the manufacture, distribution and use of “TICKOFF” a purported acaricide produced by CPM Wave that was first publicly promoted by Pastor Robert Kayanja at one of his services at Rubaga Church during the 2022 Christmas season,” reads the statement.
“Pastor Kayanja is on record announcing that he, together with his other accomplices had come up with an “incredible organic” product that kills ticks instantly. Our teams engaged and met with Pastor Kayanja and his partners (Marvin Mukasa and Clinton James) who owned up the product and claimed to have a team of scientists from Makerere University School of Veterinary Medicine who were lead investigators. NDA reached out to the said teams who confessed that they had never worked or reviewed anything from Pastor Kayanja or any of his associates,” adds the NDA statement.
NDA further says that Pastor Kayanja and his team however declined to disclose the ingredients of the product but the drugs agency, working with Uganda Police impounded over 100 samples from his church stores and took them to both NDA and Government Chemist Laboratories.
The confiscated samples were found by the government chemists to contain “dangerous and banned chemicals” that include:
- DIAZINON; a highly concentrated fumigant used to kill bedbugs, bats and termites
- FIPRONIL; a spray banned for food-producing animals because of long withdrawal period due to the potential risks it could have on human health
- (iii) BENALAXYL; a systemic fungicide which is carcinogenic (Cancer causing potential)
“The above chemicals were being mixed with animal feeds and mukene (silverfish) and packaged without any expiry date, ingredient information or warning. After disclosing to Pastor Kayanja that his product was a counterfeit, he has since closed all communication channels and instead tried to blackmail our teams,” NDA said in the statement.
“NDA condemns in the strongest possible terms the actions of Pastor Kayanja for using his advantaged position to lure desperate farmers when Uganda is faced with a challenge of tick resistance. His intention was not only criminal but also intended to cheat Ugandans.
While NDA works with police to hold Pastor Kayanja and his accomplices accountable for their criminal acts, the public especially from the districts of Kiruhura, Lyantonde, Sembabule, Gomba, Isingiro, and parts of Karamoja among others where this product has been distributed are strongly warned against using “TICKOFF”. We hereby direct all farmers who had received supplies for product to drop at any police station for easy collection,” the drugs agency warned.
“We call upon the public to be vigilant and report all suspicious products on the market that could be adulterated to NDA on toll-free line 0800 101 999 or WhatsAppNumber 0740 002 070 as we work together in protectingpublic health,” the NDA statement concluded.