Pr William Kwambaza of Forward Christian Centre Church, Nalugala, along Garuga Road, reminisces the days he was taken over by alcoholism, which almost ruined his life. His is a story of redemption he admits was only by God’s grace that he came out of what he calls bondage. He tells his story to Lilian Ntege.
Growing up
Pr Kwambaza says he grew up from a family whose source of income was making and selling crude waragi. Everyone around him was an alcohol consumer.
“I started taking alcohol at the age of 10, and by 20 years, alcohol had already drained me.
“I used to look like an old person and people around the village nicknamed me “Jaja Willy,” he says.
He did not attain an upright education because his father did not care about his children attending school.
He believed the money they made from selling alcohol was more important than school.
After all, their family was doing well financially compared to the rest of their village mates.
He says he had turned into a nuisance due to drunkenness and was always hurling insults to anyone that crossed his way.
He was always ‘hired’ by neighbours to fight battles on their behalf.
“In case a neighbour wronged someone, they would hire me to go abuse that person.
“I would drink my alcohol, prepare myself and go to insult the other party,” Kwambaza says.
Because of indulging in fights, he always had wounds all over his body.
He was always embarrassing himself and was shameless to an extent of urinating in public without caring if anyone was looking.
But because everyone in his family was an alcoholic, he thought this was his fate, too.
Getting saved
In 2003 while sleeping in his grass-thatched house, Kwambaza got a dream that envisioned his future.
In the dream, a man appeared to him with a Bible in his hands and took him out of the house.
He says they walked together and went to Entebbe Airport and boarded a plane.
He says the man told him that he would preach the Gospel in Entebbe, and different countries.
Still in the dream, they travelled to a country he could not recognise, but the same man assured him there was a congregation waiting for him, and handed him a Bible.
After the man recognised his discomfort, he took him in a room full of screens that showed his life journey from day one, and he encouraged him to get born again. He snapped out of sleep and did not know what to do.
The following day, he went to one of the Pentecostal Churches in his village and was taken through the process of being born again.
He regrettably says this is the same Church he used to rebuke whenever he was drunk.
Gradually, his life started changing for better and he stopped drinking alcohol. He started participating in Church ministry.
“In the meantime, I kept in the village doing farming business. I planted and would sell maize, beans and coffee. I also did Gospel outreaches throughout the community with my Church,” he says.
After 10 years, the man came back in his dream again and told him he was taking him to Entebbe, where he had promised him to do his ministering.
So in 2013, he left his village and started preaching on the streets of Kampala for six months, before settling in Entebbe.
He was going door to door, preaching the Gospel till 2015, when he joined Forward Christian Centre, where he pastors to date.
Meanwhile, as his life was being transformed for the best, his family members were disappointed in his choice of joining the Pentecostal Church.
He says they tried all means to sabotage his decision, but could not succeed.
He believes this was because God was on his side and had hand-picked him to serve Him. It has been 19 years and Kwambaza is thankful to God for changing and using him.
Advice to young people
He advises all the youths to get saved and know God because in believing and knowing Him and His Word, they will be saved from unlawful behaviour.
He also says alcoholism is a disease and people should try by all means to stay away from it because the time and money spent consuming alcohol can never be recovered.
